If the Right One Came Along
by 27vampyresinhermind
Summary: Noah is a single father in NYC trying to give his daughter the life he never had. Rachel is a vocal coach to the budding starlets. What happens when Noah's daughter sees potential for something more? A/U multi-chapter, R/B & P/K friendships. Now COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**a/n: Hello! This is my new A/U multi-chapter story 'If the Right One Came Along'. The title is from the song "I've Got This Friend" by The Civil Wars and if you haven't heard them yet, you're missing out like crazy! That song really speaks to what I want to accomplish with this story so if you listen to it, you'll be a bit more clued in. This story will feature daddy!Puck (who doesn't love that?), a little Klaine eventually, and of course Puckleberry (DUH!). Anna Puckerman is my own creation and I'm already in love with her. I hope you'll all fall in love with her too. I'm using some less-than-traditional friendship pairings with this story, which you'll see as it goes on. Noah is a single father who works for a publishing company in New York City. His story will unfold as the story goes so if some things don't completely make sense just yet, trust me, it will soon. Rachel's background will be revealed in the next chapter so I'll leave that to be a surprise! This story is different from much of what I've written in the past and that makes me really excited for it. I hope you all love the story as much as I already do. Thank you so much for the support you give me. I could never do this without you guys! Hearts! I don't own Glee…**

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><p><em>There was nothing they could've done to save her. She was too far gone by the time the ambulance made it to the hospital. They had to save the baby.<em>

_ Why in the hell had she been driving that late at night anyway? In the fucking rain! She never saw that truck barreling towards her, sliding and fishtailing on the slick road, unable to stop. She was supposed to call him if she had cravings in the middle of the night so he could at least take care of something in her pregnancy. But no, she just had to do it herself._

_ Her parents called him, he only caught a few words here and there like wreck, heavy bleeding, the baby, distress. It was enough to have him rushing to the hospital only to find out he was too late._

_ After finding her parents too stricken with grief to tell him anything, he knew the worst had happened. She was gone._

_ Then suddenly, the doctor was calling for the father of the baby, he was pulled in a thousand directions at once. Staring at the most perfect baby girl, he had only one regret._

_ He'd never loved her mother._

_ Their first apartment in the city, big enough for the two of them but just barely, had been a godsend. She deserved a better life than that town would ever offer her, getting out was the best thing for the both of them. And New York made the best offer he'd received._

_ He cried the first time she said, "Daddy let's go home" and didn't mean back to the cow-town they'd left. They were finally home._

"Earth to Puckerman! Did you know you have ghosts in your eyes?" Noah snapped out of his jumbled reverie to see Kurt Hummel standing in front of his desk snapping his fingers in front of his face. He blinked the memories away and cleared his throat, rubbing his temples in hopes of scaring away the impending migraine.

"You're funny Hummel. Didn't I tell you to leave my ghosts alone?" His best friend just snorted, not offering an apology for interrupting his thoughts. The look on the other man's face told Noah he knew exactly what thoughts had been going through his mind. Noah just shook his head. "Since we've been going through all of our stuff trying to move into the new place, I've been finding all sorts of crap that just ends up making me think of that night." Kurt gave him a saddened expression. He knew the story of _that_ _night_ pretty well. In the six years he'd known Noah Puckerman, the man rarely talked about the mother of his child, or the accident that took her life. But ever so often, he would pass by his desk and see his friend staring at the space between his computer screen and his giant calendar and knew the thoughts attacking his psyche.

Kurt could tell Noah needed a distraction so he picked the best one of all, the love of his life. "So how's the only girl to ever steal my heart?"

Noah laughed softly at Kurt's identifier for his daughter. "Anna's probably gonna be ready to kill me if we don't get the rest of our stuff moved today. She says we're gonna sleep in the new apartment tonight if she has to get a sleeping bag to do it." Kurt smiled brightly at that.

"Such a willful child," he commented airily, "I can't imagine how she got to be that way." Noah shot the man a half-hearted glare and replied,

"Shut it Hummel." He shuffled his papers around on his desk for a second until he decided that there was no way he'd be able to get any work done. "You're coming to help, right? Anna keeps asking about Uncle Kurt. I'm almost positive she's gonna ask for boy advice or something and dude, I can't handle that. I want Anna to stay in the 'boys are gross' phase for as long as possible." Kurt laughed at his helpless friend. The 'boys are gross' phase hadn't even lasted that long on himself, why would it last any longer with a young girl?

"What time do you need me over? And should I go to the old apartment or the new one?" Noah breathed a sigh of relief, always thankful to have a friend like Kurt.

"There's a few boxes left over at the old place that I can pick up if you'll get Anna from the JCC and take her to the new place. She'll probably wanna move the furniture around a couple more times before she's happy with it so good luck with that. I'll meet you guys up there then." Kurt grinned as he uncrossed his legs and stood up.

"You're going to feed me, right? Because I think it's an absolute tragedy if you don't cook the first night in your new home." Noah rolled his eyes but still nodded his head.

"Yes dude, I'll feed you. Anna text me earlier and said she wanted chicken parm. I'll cook while you two bitch about where the couch should go." Kurt didn't bother to argue because he knew it was true. Anna Puckerman was quite possibly the most headstrong child, pre-teen, adolescent, whatever you were supposed to call them nowadays, he'd ever met in his life.

"Sounds like a plan to me. See you later."

Noah turned his attention back to the manuscript on his desk. It needed to be sent back to the editors downstairs before he recommended it for publishing. Quickly placing it in his 'to give a fuck about later' pile, Noah stretched his arms over his head. He loosened his tie and grumbled slightly when he saw the clock on his computer. Another two hours. Where's the DeLorean when you need it?

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><p>Noah heard them yelling at each other the second he stepped off the elevator. Great, the last thing they needed was for the new neighbors to start complaining about them before they'd even spent one night in the new apartment. He shifted the boxes in his arms and growled as he walked down the hall. Their shouts just got louder when he opened the door and he would've been a little more angry if not for the sight he was greeted with as he stepped into the apartment.<p>

Off to one side of the room, his friend and daughter seemed to be engaged in a tug-of-war of sorts with the couch. Anna looked like she was ready to go on a rampage.

"Anna sweetie, you don't understand," Kurt tried to explain, his voice just a little louder and more tense than absolutely necessary, "the couch can't go on that side of the room. It's bad feng shui." Noah opened his mouth to try and quiet them down but Anna's voice was faster. Her groan of frustration was a little more frightening than he expected it to be since it was coming out of a twelve year old.

"We're Jewish, not Asian, so I don't give a crap about feng shui! The couch looks stupid over there Uncle Kurt and you know it." Kurt was no doubt about to retort on how unappreciative Anna was being so Noah saw fit to step in.

"Hey! Both of you calm down!" Both of them suddenly turned to face him, apparently not having noticed him when he walked in in the first place. The looks on their faces, plus past experience dealing with them together, told Noah the next words that would be coming out of their mouths. So, he beat them to the punch. "I don't care who started it. I'm finishing it." Usually, he hated sounding like his own mother using phrases like that but sometimes, those phrases worked the best. "Kurt, Anna's right. The couch does look stupid over there." Seeing the triumphant look on his daughter's face, he just smirked and continued, "Anna, the couch looks stupid over there too. It's going in front of the TV so you two can just chill out." Somehow, Anna seemed to count that as a win for her, if the way she stuck her tongue out at Kurt was any indication.

Noah sat the boxes down on the already cluttered dining table and then felt his daughter's forehead rest in the middle of his back. He grinned as she started whining.

"Dad, Uncle Kurt's being a butthead. He told me that he was going to paint my room pink and put Justin Bieber posters everywhere if I didn't let him put the couch on that side of the room." Noah laughed out loud at that. With Anna, that threat was worse than certain death. He turned towards Anna and gently rubbed his hand through her dark hair before looking up to see Kurt shifting guiltily from one foot to the other.

"You threatened my kid with Bieber, Hummel?" Kurt nodded his head, even though you could tell he wanted to deny it. Noah just shook his head and wrapped his arm around Anna's shoulders. "Dude, you know I'm not responsible if she hauls off and kicks you in the nads for making threats like that." Kurt huffed and crossed his arms, pointing an accusatory, albeit well-manicured, finger at Anna.

"She was being unreasonable! I had no choice but to resort to drastic measures." Anna glanced up at her dad and rolled her eyes.

"I'm twelve. Being unreasonable is my job description. You're an adult, _most_ _times_, so shouldn't you know how to deal with me without having a fit?" That little comment made Noah snort.

"She's got a point Hummel," he chuckled in Kurt's direction. Before Kurt could come up with anything as a rebuttal, Noah kissed the top of Anna's head and grinned. "I'm gonna go get started on the food. You two please try to keep from ripping each other to shreds, or at least stay quiet if you do decide to kill each other." With another semi-scolding expression at both of them, he added, "Play nice children." Both Kurt and Anna mocked him with their own rendition of 'play nice children' but he didn't care. It was pretty funny. Before he got to the kitchen, he turned to see Anna fiddling with the boxes he'd put on the table. "Baby girl, that box on top needs to go to your room and the bottom one is extra sheets and crap so unload it in the hall closet. Then help Uncle Kurt move the couch to a place that's not stupid and I don't wanna hear anymore arguing out of you two, unless it's later when you're trying to one-up each other while complimenting me on my kickass chicken parmesan."

Later that night, after Kurt had gone home, Noah walked down to his daughter's room. She was standing at her window looking at the active street below so he looked around. The walls were a soft purple color and she already had her Ramones poster sandwiched between two other posters of Mozart and Schubert. The girl's eclectic taste in music had always rivaled his own, which never failed to make him smile. Among her books on the small shelf he'd built for her, the small teddy bear that had once belonged to her mother sat upright, as though it watched over the bedroom.

He cleared his throat but Anna didn't turn around as she started speaking softly. "You know dad, I think we're really gonna like it here." Noah walked over to stand beside her at her window and asked,

"Why's that?" She leaned into his arm until he wrapped it around her and pulled her snug against his side. She hugged his torso and playfully dug her chin into his chest.

"Because it already feels like home."

Standing there, with his little girl in his arms and a busy New York City street bustling below them, he couldn't argue with that.

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><p><strong>Have I piqued your interest? I sure hope so! Please tell me your thoughts in a review! Next up: Rachel is introduced! <strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**a/n: Hi people! Two chapters in one week! Shh, don't tell my muse or it'll scare her away. Thank you so much for the incredible response to the first chapter. It blew me away! You wonderful readers always seem to do that and I'm so thankful for that! This chapter reveals a bit of Rachel's background and hopefully, at the end of the chapter, you'll see where the connection to the Puckerman family is going to come in later (hint next chapter hint). Also, anybody like a little Raine? Another one of the friendship pairings I'm using in this story. So thank you so much for everything and I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please review! I don't own Glee…**

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><p>Rachel forced her gaze to remain friendly as the time drew closer to the girl's lesson. At any moment, Ambrielle Lawson would burst through the doors of the arts complex and begin screeching like a dying cat in heat. And Rachel would have to explain yet again, in the most tactful way possible, that the notes the girl was torturing were so far off-key, they were bordering on criminal. The victims of <em>Hostel<em>-like situations were treated better than Ambrielle unknowingly treated her vocal coach's ears.

On cue, Ambrielle's heels could be heard clicking down the hall, flourishing through the doors seconds later with a bright fake smile plastered on her face. Rachel quickly schooled her features to her stoic 'let's get down to business' expression and turned on the piano bench.

"Hi Miss Berry," the girl started in her nasally voice, "I already went through my vocal warm-ups so we can go ahead and get started on my audition piece for Shakespeare in the Park." Rachel bit her tongue. Attempting to convince the girl for the umpteenth time that you did _not_ need a song to audition for _Twelfth Night_ would be hopelessly futile. Instead, she decided to focus on the unlikely possibility that Ambrielle had actually, _correctly_, gone through her vocal warm-ups before arriving.

Rachel arched her brow and plinked out a few keys on the piano. "Well then, I'm interested to hear the progress you've made on your own. Why don't you sing this note for me?" She played a C, but whatever came of the girl's mouth was, as usual, not even close. "Okay," she began a little more harshly than necessary, "I don't think it'll hurt anything to run through a few more warm-ups." Ambrielle grinned and shrugged, her blonde hair falling over her shoulder.

"Okay, you're the coach Miss Berry."

About an hour later, Rachel started to notice that her hands were clenching into fists of frustration more often than they were tapping out the melody that Ambrielle should have been singing. She was seconds away from telling the girl to just give up, that she shouldn't bother attempting a career in musical theatre, and that she had no business being on any stage unless it was in front of a bathroom mirror behind a soundproofed steel door.

She'd been too caught up in exactly what she would tell Ambrielle if she were allowed to truly speak candidly that she didn't notice the dark haired man when he walked in.

"Hello ladies," he crooned easily. Rachel looked up and literally felt her day get exponentially better.

"Blaine, what brings you here," she smiled at her friend, failing miserably to hide the tension in her voice. He picked up on it right away.

"I was in the neighborhood and thought I would swing by and take you to lunch. How's the lesson going?" Blaine had known that Rachel was seconds away from erupting on the pupil when he'd walked in the room. The woman's face clearly bore the expression of 'you've got to be kidding me'. Saving her from that was the least he could do.

Ambrielle shot him a flirty smile and Blaine fought the urge to roll his eyes. Not only could the bobble-headed girl not grasp the fact that she couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, but she also couldn't understand that he didn't bat for her team. No matter how many times he reminded her that he was as gay as they come, it never seemed to really sink in.

"Miss Berry was helping me with some new scales and my audition song. We're having fun." Rachel's face belied that sentiment. "Would you like to hear?" Blaine chuckled nervously.

"Actually, I was hoping, if it wouldn't be too much trouble for you two, that you could cut the lesson short today. I'm sure you're voice could use a rest anyway." Ambrielle looked to Rachel as Rachel shot a grateful look at Blaine.

"I think we've done all we can do today anyway so that's a wonderful idea. Ambrielle, we'll meet the same time next week." The girl nodded her head with a smile and flounced out of the room, calling her good-byes behind her. Rachel looked up as Blaine sat down next to her on the piano bench. He bumped her shoulder with his own and chuckled softly.

"Somebody looked like a diva about to explode just there," he whispered knowingly. Rachel snorted and banged out a quick frustrated discord of notes from the keys.

"She's lucky you saved her from it. I keep trying to get other coaches to take her but they've all heard her and refuse. I miss the old days, back when you and I were on that stage, and the talent was so thick in the air you could hardly breathe. It was exhilarating! Now, it's YouTube _this_ and auto-tune _that_. And here I am, like some poor schmuck, trying to train the kind of talent that actually _deserves_ a standing ovation but that's impossible to do with people like Ambrielle who are convinced they're the next biggest thing." With a forlorn sigh, Rachel leaned into her friend for a moment. She glanced up at him before a tiny wave of self-pity hit her and she pouted. "_I_ used to be the next big thing."

Blaine smiled down at her again and nudged her with his shoulder until she sat back up. He raised his hands to the piano and began to play "On My Own' as softly as possible. As he played, he spoke to her in a low voice. "Rachel, you're not old enough to use phrases like 'the old days' and 'use to be'. Your Broadway career doesn't have to be a fading memory. When we were child actors, the competition was ruthlessly cutthroat. But you thrived on it and I think that's what made you stand out even more. That's what makes you the best vocal coach the city has to offer. Hell, the best the state has to offer, probably the East Coast." Rachel feigned a humble expression that made him grin.

"Blaine, you're the Will to my Grace," she giggled.

"I know," he replied brightly, "and as your Will, it's my duty to tell you that you're too much for this line of work. I mean, come on, you've been coaching the award winners for the past seven years. Why don't you get back on that stage where you belong and start winning them for yourself again!"

Rachel couldn't help the wistful smile that spread across her face at the thought of going back to the stage. Her childhood had been spent there. It was where she'd met the boy who became her best friend in the whole world, the man now sitting next to her. The place that held more happy memories for her than anywhere else. It wasn't like she'd never thought of going back. The stage was where her heart resided, and you can't walk away from your heart.

"It's not as simple as you think Blaine. When I quit acting, I was twenty years old and I just wanted to be done with the mindless backstabbing for a little bit. But then I got comfortable in this job and I'm really good at it. Even Ambrielle doesn't suck as much now as she did when she first walked through those doors." She ignored the doubting look Blaine shot her. "I think I'm scared that if I go back and fail, I'll have nothing to live for anymore."

Blaine really hated seeing Rachel like this. It was a cold day in Hell when Rachel Berry didn't believe in herself. He stood up abruptly, making her fall over on the bench, and placed his hands flat on the top of the piano. Blaine looked her dead in the eyes and refused to let her gaze drop from his until he knew he had her attention. "You don't know the meaning of the word 'fail' because you've never done it in your life. And if you do decide to go back, you'll have everything you ever wanted, all over again." He took a second to harden his expression just to make sure she got the point and then smiled. "So what do you want for lunch? I'm starving."

It wasn't until they were seated in their favorite little soup shop that Blaine asked the question Rachel had been dreading.

"How are you and Carter doing?" Rachel cringed at the mention of her boyfriend. Blaine had never liked him and had always been vocal about it. But it was only recently that Rachel began noticing his more off-putting qualities. She knew Blaine was hoping for a bit of bad (good) news on her relationship status, and damn it, she was going to give it to him.

"I'm about seventy-five percent sure he's cheating on me." That shut him up. She wasn't sure if it was _what_ she'd said or the _way_ she'd said it, like saying there was a seventy-five percent chance of rain, but a speechless Blaine was quite funny. But then his stunned silence became furious silence and his face darkened.

"That asshole," he seethed, his voice dangerously low, "I'll kill him. I'll rip his head off. How could he do that to you?" Rachel reached across the table and placed her hand over his to try and calm him down.

"Like I said, I'm not completely certain. The other night when he came over to my apartment for dinner, he smelled like cheap perfume. I made a joke about him switching to female deodorant and he instantly got defensive and started going on and on about how some woman had squeezed up next to him on the subway and that was what I smelled. He's been bailing on our dates, either leaving early or not showing up at all, and he always says he's needed at the office. Both excuses seem a little too convenient to me, but I can't really prove it." Blaine's expression softened and he turned his hand over beneath hers so he could hold it.

"Honey, I'm so sorry. Will you be okay?" Rachel took a deep breath as their food arrived and waited for the waitress to leave before she said anything.

"It stings, of course, but mostly I wish I knew without a doubt. I'm glad I haven't made the mistake of letting myself fall in love with him. That probably helps. I'll survive." He hated that she was so accepting of it all. He wanted her to get angry, make the cheating bastard pay, he wanted to see that fire in her eyes again. As happy as it made him that their relationship was as good as dead in the water, he felt horrible that Carter had turned out to be just another frog Rachel had to kiss in her search for the prince. Rachel deserved a real man. So where the hell was he?

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><p>Rachel breathed a sigh of relief when she finally got home later that night. Her bag of Thai food in hand, she kicked her shoes off and sat down on the couch. Luxuriating in the feel of the soft carpet beneath her toes, she groaned when she realized that she'd forgotten to get something to drink before plopping down. Sadly, with as tired as the day had made her, the Force just wasn't with her and she couldn't will her bottle of water to float out of the refrigerator and into her waiting hand, no matter how much she envisioned it in her mind.<p>

When she finally made it back to the couch from her trip to the kitchen, where she'd went ahead and grabbed a plate and fork to accompany her bottle of water, Rachel found her remote so she could watch the last few episodes of _Dexter_ on her TiVo. But when she turned the TV on, the speakers buzzed with how loud the volume was.

That's when she remembered why her volume was up so high in the first place. Upon muting the show, she realized how quiet it was. All week long, a family had apparently been moving into the apartment above hers and there seemed to be a near constant rearranging of furniture. But now, it was quiet. They were settled. Rachel instantly felt like she should go whip up a batch of cookies to take to her new upstairs neighbors as a 'welcome to the building' gesture but decided against it. Her stomach was empty and she could make cookies on the weekend. At the moment, she was going to enjoy her supper. Welcoming neighbors would just have to wait a couple days.

**Please Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**a/n: Greetings from Pigeon Forge! My family is on vacation here right now and we were awakened by a wonderful garbage truck torturing the dumpsters behind our hotel this morning at 5:30…it was great. So anyway, this chapter has the meeting! I hope you like it! I don't own Glee or the songs 'God Save the Queen', 'Pathétique', or 'Anna Molly'. I know it's pretty short but please review! Love you guys!**

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><p>Boys were stupid. That was the only answer Anna could come up with. The JCC was full of plenty of other girls that Joey Green could bug. Plenty of girls that wore their hair in pigtails because they didn't mind if the boys pulled on them. Plenty of girls who seemed to stupidly welcome the juvenile antics of the boys their age. Anna was <em>not<em> one of them. Joey was dumb and she hated that he always seemed to pick her to bother.

Anna was beginning to regret begging her dad to let her walk home by herself because the most frustrating boy she'd ever met in the world decided to walk with her.

"Joey, just go away," she growled, trying to make her voice as menacing as she'd heard her dad get in the past. The blonde haired boy with pretty green eyes currently had one of her headphones in his hand in an attempt to figure out what song she was using to feebly help her ignore him. Frustrated, Anna grabbed her headphone from him. Boys her age rarely knew who the Sex Pistols were so there was no point in Joey trying to listen in. "Ugh stop bugging me Joey!" The boy shrugged and gave her a shy smile that looked out of place on his face. He shoved his hands in his pockets and mumbled,

"But it's more fun to bug you Anna. The other girls just giggle and stuff. You bug me right back." Anna rolled her eyes. Only a boy would think it was fun to be annoyed. Anna stuck her headphones back in her ears and tried to ignore him the rest of the way home. But when they made it to the entrance of her building, Joey grabbed her hand before she could escape inside. "You're gonna be at the JCC after school tomorrow right?" Anna stared back at him for a minute and then looked down to where he'd laced his fingers between hers.

"Yeah Joey," she answered, "that's where I _always_ go after school." He _knew_ that, so why was he asking? More importantly, why was he still holding her hand? And why didn't she just pull hers away? Before Anna could mentally answer any of the questions she'd just thought up, Joey leaned in and planted his lips right in the middle of her cheek.

It was the strangest feeling. Anna didn't ask him to kiss her on the cheek. She'd seen other girls ask him for a kiss, but she'd never been one of them. It wasn't like she _wanted_ him to kiss her, but she couldn't seem to make her hands push him away.

When Joey pulled back, he had his stupid grin back on his face. He let go of her hand and Anna continued to look at him like she wasn't sure what had just happened. With a small wave, Joey said, "See you tomorrow Anna," and walked off in the direction of his building.

Anna stood dazed for a second as she watched him walk down the sidewalk. Then it hit her that _Joey_ _Green_ had _kissed_ her and she groaned. Wiping her cheek, she thought it again. Boys were stupid.

The song changed from 'God Save the Queen' to 'Pathétique' by Beethoven as she stepped into the elevator and she smiled, not paying attention to the button she pushed and certainly not noticing when the elevator stopped one floor away from where she was actually supposed to get off.

Dad was already home so Anna knew the door would be unlocked. The hallway looked different than she remembered but then she just figured that she probably hadn't been paying much attention to it the first place. Reaching out to grab the doorknob, Anna tugged her headphones off and swung them around her neck.

It took her just a second to realize that something was definitely wrong. She tried to remember if her dad had said anything about letting Uncle Kurt come back by and totally redecorate but nothing came to mind. It didn't make any sense. All of the furniture was different, the walls were a different color, nothing looked the way it had when she'd left for school that morning. What in the crap was going on?

"Dad," she called out into the apartment. No answer. "Daddy," she tried again.

When Rachel heard a small voice coming from her living room, she assumed that Blaine had finally shown up for their _True Blood_ marathon. She grabbed her tea and her bowl of junk food off of the kitchen counter and headed into the living room.

The small girl was most definitely _not_ Blaine. The girl had pretty brown hair braided so that it rested over her shoulder. The t-shirt she had on looked like an old Iron Maiden shirt that had been altered to fit her tiny frame and she wore a dark purple skirt with purple leggings underneath it. She couldn't have been more than thirteen.

"Um, excuse me," Rachel began softly. The girl whirled around, bright hazel eyes wild, and she immediately brought her fists up to her face as though she was ready to fight. It stunned Rachel just a little bit.

"Who are you? Why are you in my house? Stay back, I know aikido!" The vocal coach in Rachel couldn't ignore the natural harmony in the girl's voice. Then she noticed that she'd said 'my house'. Clearly a mistake had been made.

"Honey, my name is Rachel. Are you lost? Do you need me to call someone for you?" Rachel noticed the girl falter for a second, as though she couldn't figure out whether to keep her fists up or drop them. Finally, she lowered them about halfway and eyed Rachel warily before repeating her question.

"Why are you in my house?" A thought seemed to strike her then and she asked, "Are you one of my dad's _friends_?" Taking a deep breath, Rachel sat her tea cup and junk food bowl down on the table.

"Sweetie, I don't know who your dad is. But this is my apartment. I think you're lost." Rachel waited for the girl to let that sink in. She must have believed her because she dropped her hands and looked back at Rachel with curiosity.

"Is this apartment 5G," Anna asked softly. The pretty lady shook her head and Anna noticed that her skin looked really soft.

"No, this is 4G." At that, Anna wanted to kick herself for not paying attention. Her dad had warned her since they moved in to pay attention so that things like this didn't happen. "What's your name honey?" Now Anna wasn't stupid. She'd seen the 'stranger danger' videos before. Her dad had taught her since she was pretty much born to not talk to strangers, especially when she was alone. But something about this Rachel woman wasn't raising any red flags. Anna had always though she had pretty good instincts about people and Rachel seemed alright.

"My name is Anna Puckerman. I'm sorry for yelling at you. I thought you were an intruder or something. Guess I'm the intruder huh." Rachel grinned at Anna as she realized what apartment the girl _thought_ she'd walked into.

"You just moved in upstairs, didn't you?" Anna nodded her head. "Then you're my new neighbors. I've been meaning to go up and welcome you to the building but I've just been busy. Anna is a pretty name." Anna smiled. Compliments were always cool.

"My dad named me. The song 'Anna Molly' by Incubus was my mom's favorite song so my dad named me Anna to kind of keep her memory alive I guess. She died when I was born though so it's just me and my dad." Anna didn't look sad as she spoke about her mother but Rachel assumed it was because, as she'd stated, she'd never known her. Suddenly, Rachel's heart cried out for the girl just a little.

Rachel sat down at her table and smiled across the room at Anna. Anna moved around and sat on the arm of the couch as she looked around the apartment. "I never knew my mother either," she offered. "I have two dads though." Anna turned when she said that and met her eyes.

"Really? Are they like my Uncle Kurt?" Seeing the slight confusion on Rachel's face, Anna realized that not everyone she came in contact with knew her Uncle Kurt. "He likes guys. That's what I meant. My Uncle Kurt is gay. Are your dads gay like him?" Rachel couldn't help but be a little more stunned at the girl. Anna seemed to be full of surprises.

"Yes, my dads are gay. If you don't mind me asking, how is it that you came to be so progressive?" Anna laughed. She'd been called a few things before but 'progressive' wasn't one of them. She liked that Rachel didn't talk to her like she was a little kid.

"My dad, I guess. He always says that no matter what other people say, who you love doesn't change who you are. He says that being gay doesn't make you better or worse than anybody else and that people who think it does are people I should feel sorry for. I love my Uncle Kurt so I don't care who else he loves." The smile on Rachel's face widened as Anna spoke. She was already positive that the man responsible for raising this child was amazing.

"Your father sounds like a wonderful man," Rachel said. Anna laughed softly but nodded her head.

"Yeah he's pretty cool. But he's probably gonna be mad now since I didn't come home right when I left the JCC." Rachel stood up and grabbed her keys from the table.

"Well it was an accident. What if I walk up with you and explain the situation? Then he won't get angry with you. Would that be okay?"

Anna thought for a second. Rachel was pretty cool, not to mention actually pretty. Maybe if she brought her home, her dad would get too distracted to be mad about her not coming home on time. It was worth a shot.

"Sure," Anna grinned, "maybe he'll stare all googley-eyed at you and forget to be mad." Rachel wasn't really sure what that comment was supposed to mean so she just opened the door and waited for Anna to walk out into the hallway. As Anna walked past the door, she looked up to where the apartment number, 4G, was nailed and shook her head. She resolved that it was stupid Joey Green's fault for kissing her and getting her brain all out of sorts. Yep, it was Joey's fault. Stupid, cute, _stupid_ Joey.

Noah was starting to get worried. He'd let Anna talk him into letting her walk home by herself from the JCC that afternoon and she should've been home already. Independent girl or not, one thing was for sure. She wasn't walking home alone anymore. No fucking way.

Just as he grabbed his keys to go off in a panicked search for his daughter, there was a light knock on the door. Not bothering to look in the peephole to see who it was and preparing to tell them to go away until he had Anna in his arms, Noah wrenched the door open.

"Hi dad." Never had two words brought him to his knees so fast in his life. Noah pulled Anna to him and wrapped his arms around her as tight as possible without cutting off her air circulation. He didn't have these types of scares very often and it would be fan-fucking-tastic if he never had one again.

"Baby girl don't you _ever_ do that again. You hear me? Never again. And you can forget walking home by yourself until you're forty." Anna rolled her eyes a little bit but hugged him back. It was nice having a dad that loved her so much. She knew a lot of kids from school who weren't that lucky.

Rachel smiled softly at the scene before her but she couldn't help feeling partially responsible for the extremely attractive man's obvious worry over his daughter. She cleared her throat and waited for him to look up at her. When he turned his eyes to her, the fire she saw made her breath stop in her lungs.

"Dad, this is Rachel. I accidentally went to her apartment." Noah whipped his head back to Anna when she said that, using her 'don't be mad at me' voice she'd perfected by the time she was three.

"What do you mean you accidentally went to her apartment?" Rachel could hear the hardening in the man's voice. It was simultaneously exciting and nerve-wracking.

"I think I can explain that Mr. Puckerman. I live in the apartment just downstairs. I'm pretty sure that Anna wasn't paying attention and she ended up on the wrong floor. She walked into my apartment thinking that it was yours. It was an honest mistake."

Noah stood up when Anna nodded her head at the woman's explanation. Really looking at her for the first time, he had to pause. She was gorgeous. Dark hair and big brown eyes, all curves and soft skin, he felt his breath speed up.

"Yeah dad, it was an honest mistake," Anna chimed in. "It was all Joey's fault. He was walking me home and then kissed me at the last minute and I was all surprised so I wasn't looking and I hit the wrong floor. Rachel lives right under us so I thought her apartment was our apartment and daddy I'm really sorry but at least it was Rachel's apartment and not some crazy person right?" Anna took a deep breath and peered hopefully up at her dad.

Noah sighed. Now that he knew Anna was safe, it was hard to be upset with her. With a weary exhale, he directed his attention back to the woman at his door.

"So, you're our downstairs neighbor," he stared with a tired grin. "I'm Noah, and you've already met Anna. Sorry my kid barged into your home. We promise it won't happen again, don't we Anna?" Anna huffed but replied,

"I promise I won't barge in to Rachel's apartment anymore." With a smirk, she quickly added, "I'll make sure to knock next time." Rachel was cool and Anna definitely wanted to see her again. By the look on her dad's face, he wouldn't mind seeing her again either. Suddenly, an idea struck her. "Dad, you should invite Rachel to dinner tomorrow night. It's important to be neighborly, you know." Noah couldn't figure out what Anna was getting at with her little dinner invitation but he knew that she would pitch a fit if he refused.

"Well why don't we make it a housewarming dinner then. I'll invite Uncle Kurt and Rachel, you're free to invite someone if you'd like. At least then, you won't be surrounded by people you don't know." Rachel smiled at that idea.

The thought of inviting Carter to this little get together never even crossed her mind. Blaine would definitely be her first choice.

"That sounds wonderful. I suppose I'll see you tomorrow night. It was very nice to meet you both." The slight tingle she felt as she shook Noah's hand was hard to ignore but she did her best.

The first thing Rachel did as she stepped back into her apartment was head for the kitchen. Those 'welcome to the building' cookies would be the perfect treat to take to the dinner with Noah and Anna. After all, Bubbe always said to never show up to a party empty-handed.


	4. Chapter 4

**a/n: Hey! Here's the dinner! I want to thank you all collectively for the amazing response I've gotten for this story so far. My readers are incredible and I love you all so much for the support you give me. Hearts! I hope everyone likes this chapter, a bit of emotion and other stuff is chocked into it so something for everyone! Just to let you know, I have two one-shots coming up as soon as I can finish them. One will be very M with Smuckleberry all over the place and the other one will just be a little cavity-inducing. So let's hope I can finish those soon! Love you guys, enjoy this chapter, and I don't own Glee…**

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><p>Noah watched as Kurt started to stick a fork into the smashed potatoes <em>again<em> and growled. He quickly thrust the knife he was using to slice the baguette out in front of Kurt's fork, blocking his advance.

"Hummel if you don't get out of my kitchen right now, you're gonna pull back a bloody nub the next time you reach for those potatoes." Behind them, Anna snorted. She'd seen him whack her Aunt Bex on the back of the hand with a spatula for trying to sneak a pancake from the stack before the rest of the batch was finished. He had some rules you just didn't break, one being that you didn't eat the food he cooked until it was all finished.

Kurt turned to look at Anna with an arched brow. "You're letting him speak to me in that way," he questioned her haughtily. Anna shrugged her shoulders.

"You know the rules dude. You brought it on yourself. Daddy doesn't tolerate nibbling." The matter-of-fact, almost authoritative, tone in Anna's voice made Noah smile proudly. He'd taught her well.

He returned to slicing the loaf of bread, keeping Kurt in his line of sight because sometimes threats just weren't enough. They all heard the light rhythmic knocking on the front door and looked up. Anna jumped down from the counter excitedly and he chuckled. Ever since meeting Rachel the day before, Anna had barely stopped talking about her. Noah couldn't really understand how the woman had made such a huge impression on his daughter in such a short time but he wasn't going to fight it.

"I'll get the door," Anna squealed. Noah reached out and tugged on her shirt to stop her from running to the door.

"_I'll_ get the door," he corrected her. "You guard Kurt. You have my permission to carry out punishment if he tries to break the rules again." Anna's smile was almost sinister as she nodded her head.

"Oh I can handle that." Noah chuckled at the somewhat fearful look on Kurt's face as he held his hands up in surrender. Anna had that effect sometimes.

The first thing he noticed when he opened the door was how fucking hot Rachel looked in her green dress. It had this deep neckline that revealed just enough of her cleavage to make him want to see more. It fell right above her knees and showed off the great pair of legs she'd been hiding under sweatpants the day before. The sight of her made his mouth salivate and dry all at the same time.

He didn't hear Anna come up beside him at the door until her voice sneered, "Who are _you_?" It took him a second to realize that Anna's thinly-veiled dislike was directed not at Rachel (of course) but at the man he now noticed beside her.

"Anna," he whispered harshly. Anna huffed but made no effort to apologize for her rude behavior. Without making a scene, he couldn't really say much more about it. "Rachel, come in. Who's your friend?" Rachel smiled a soft smile as she stepped into the apartment.

"This is my friend Blaine. We've known each other since we were very young." Noah put his hand out towards Blaine and tried to smile welcomingly.

"What's up, I'm Noah, this is my daughter Anna, and Kurt is," he paused and looked down at Anna before finishing his sentence, "currently unguarded in the kitchen." Blaine chuckled.

"Does he _need_ guarding?" His question was met with Anna's almost piercing gaze.

"He's probably eating food that he's not supposed to. I'm supposed to be watching him." Blaine couldn't help laughing just a little bit at the thought of the small girl guarding _anyone_. As Rachel started to follow Noah into the apartment, Anna made sure no one was paying attention before she grabbed onto Blaine's arm so he would bend down to eye-level with her. He stared at her for a second before prompting,

"You don't like me very much it seems." Anna wasn't fazed by his assumption. For the moment, it was correct.

"That depends on how you answer my next question," she stated, her expression eerily calm. Rachel had warned him that Anna had a quality about her that suggested she could hold her own. But he couldn't think of anything he'd done in the very brief period of time that had passed since stepping into the apartment that could cause the girl to dislike him on sight.

"Okay what's the question?" Anna eyed him for a second, like she was sizing him up.

"Are you Rachel's boyfriend?" Blaine waited for the punch-line, for any indication that the real question was still coming. Based on the girl's expression, he'd been expecting some sort of Sphinx-like riddle. But when Anna just looked at him expectantly, Blaine chuckled.

"No I definitely am not Rachel's boyfriend." Anna smiled widely and stuck her hand out towards him.

"Good, you look like an alright dude. It'd be sad if I had to hate you." She seemed to think of something else and her smile dropped. "Does she have a boyfriend?" Blaine just nodded his head, still trying to figure out why Anna was asking these types of questions, especially to him. "Crap," she muttered before turning back and walking into the kitchen.

What an odd girl.

Two hours later, everyone was sitting around the dining table eating the cookies Rachel had made and the brownies that Noah had made. (Anna kept squishing them together, making cookie-brownie sandwiches, and insisting everyone else do the same.) They were all also rolling their eyes at the incredibly obvious and lame lines that Kurt and Blaine kept giving each other. The two men were hopelessly into each other and definitely weren't shy about it. Rachel, in a feeble attempt to change the subject, turned to Anna sitting beside her.

"So has that Joey boy bothered you anymore?" Noah stiffened at the mention of that kid's name. He smiled inwardly at the look of fear on the little twerp's face when he'd picked Anna up from the JCC that afternoon. He could still see the way the boy's hair stood on end when he'd told him, in no uncertain terms, to stay the fuck away from his daughter and if he ever heard of him bothering Anna again he'd be sorry. With a grin in Rachel's direction, he answered the question she'd asked Anna.

"Oh I don't think he'll be bothering _anybody_ anytime soon." Rachel laughed gently but she admired how protective Noah was over the girl. His love for his daughter just shined in everything he did. But then, the way Anna huffed and crossed her arms caught her eye.

"He'll probably never talk to me again," she muttered under her breath. It occurred to Rachel, not for the first time, that perhaps Anna didn't hate Joey's attention as much as she'd originally let on. Before she could offer the girl any comfort, thinking to tell her that she was young and had plenty of time for boys later or that if the boy really liked her, a scary dad wouldn't keep him away for very long, Blaine decided to extract himself from the bubble of shameless flirtation he and Kurt had formed around themselves earlier in the evening.

"Okay, so don't take this the wrong way or anything but," he paused to make eye-contact with Noah and Kurt, "you two don't really strike me as the types to actively hang around each other. How are you such good friends?" Both Kurt and Noah laughed at Blaine's guess but Rachel had to admit that her friend had a point.

"Well," Kurt began with his hands clasped in front of him as he leaned forward slightly, looking all the part of someone who loved to tell a good story, "I'd been an intern at Star Potential Publishing during college, barely landing my bottom of the rung position right after graduation, when this guy comes in from Lima, Ohio. We couldn't stand each other. Puckerman reminded me of all the assholes I'd had to deal with in high school so I mistakenly hated him on sight." Noah laughed at that and popped the last of his cookie into his mouth.

"He made my life a living hell from day one. He was always talking about me behind my back, saying that my work was wrong, treating me like I didn't deserve to be there. All of that made me think he was a stuck up little prick. I knew I hadn't done anything to him so we tried to avoid each other as much as possible." Rachel and Blaine both leaned forward on their elbows, intrigued by the story.

"And then what happened," they prompted in unison. Kurt and Noah both grinned and Kurt picked up the story again.

"We got put on the same team to do manuscript evaluations. It became pretty clear to everyone that it wasn't really safe to have both of us in the same room together. I couldn't keep my snide little comments to myself and Noah had a very short fuse when he was egged on. Our boss told us to work out our differences or get cut from the team." Rachel looked over at Noah and saw the smirk on his face. Something about it made her want to hear the next part from his lips. With an eager glint in her eyes, she asked him directly,

"What did you do?" The way he met her gaze, held it for a moment before speaking, made her skin tighten for some reason. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that the only other straight man in her life, her boyfriend Carter, rarely looked at her when he spoke to her. Rachel wouldn't bother denying that it felt nice to have someone's attention directed at her.

"I cornered him that day after everyone left. Told him that if he had a problem with me, he needed to stop being a little bitch about it and tell me because I sure as hell wasn't about to put my job in jeopardy over something stupid like whatever his issue was. I had a kid at home and she was more important to me than getting along with somebody who apparently hated my guts for no reason." Noah laughed at the memory, able to see the humor in the situation he'd been in with the man that had become his best friend. "When Kurt finally told me that I reminded him of the assholes he'd had to go through high school with, I flat told him that that was a stupid reason to hate somebody he didn't know, especially since I hadn't done anything to him." Kurt sighed from the other end of the table before continuing where Noah had left off.

"Of course, once he so crudely put it that way, I realized he was right. After that little confrontation, we were civil to each other but not much more. One day, I heard him asking someone in the children's publishing department if he would be able to get an advanced copy of a book before it hit shelves. They told him no but I was curious. So I asked him why he wanted the book and he told me that it was for his daughter's birthday and he wanted to get her something special. Well that just melted my heart. I felt like I owed him since I'd made his life hell, and I had pull in that department. So I pulled a little 'Devil Wears Prada', got the book for him, and—" Anna laughed and finished Kurt's sentence for him.

"And he's been my Uncle Kurt ever since! Can I have another cookie? Rachel these are freaking awesome!"

By the time the 'family dinner' was over, Anna was in bed, though everyone doubted she'd actually gone to sleep, and Blaine and Kurt had exchanged numbers with the promise to go out to lunch the next day. Rachel loved seeing the smitten grin on Blaine's face, but she honestly missed getting to wear one of her own.

As she said her goodbyes for the evening, looking into Noah's eyes, she wondered if she'd ever feel that way again.

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><p>"Young lady," Noah bellowed, "you open this door right now or I'll break it down!"<p>

Anna had been in a bad mood since they'd gotten home that afternoon and he couldn't figure out what her problem was. She'd been snippy about everything, downright rude to him which had never been a problem before, and she'd gone and locked herself in the fucking bathroom. That shit doesn't fly in his house.

Yelling obviously wasn't working though but he was kind of at a loss as to what he should do. Anna had never acted like this before. New territory sucked.

"Anna," he started a bit softer, "baby girl what's going on? I can't help if you won't tell me what's wrong. Just unlock the door. Please." He heard her sniffle from inside the bathroom. She was crying? Why was she crying? If that fucking Joey Green kid was making his baby girl cry, he'd rip his head off. "Anna, work with me here. Just talk to me." Something hit the door from the other side, like she'd thrown something at the door, at _him_.

"I don't wanna talk to you dad. I can't talk to you." That last part trailed off like a whisper but he caught it all the same. And it broke his fucking heart. Noah had always taken pride in his relationship with his daughter, always telling her that no matter what problem she had, she could come to him and he would help her in any way he could. The worst part was that she always had. Anna spoke her mind, she was smart, and she'd never hesitated in coming to him with anything. The fact that this problem, whatever it was, had not only caused her to lock herself in the bathroom but was apparently too big for her to tell him about scared the shit out of him. Noah opened his mouth to tell her as much but then Anna spoke again. "Daddy, would you go get Rachel?"

"Why do you want me to get Rachel," he tried to keep the tension out of his voice but it was impossible. He heard Anna sniff again and his hand itched to break the door down again.

"Just please get her daddy. I'm not dying or anything, I'd just really rather talk to Rachel about this." With his lips pursed in effort to not start yelling again, Noah exhaled heavily through his nose. He'd do anything for Anna, and apparently that included going downstairs to seek help from the gorgeous woman who lived below them.

It'd been a week or two since the dinner had taken place and Noah had actually begun to think of Rachel as a friend of the family. Anna seemed to adore her, Kurt was pretty much head over heels for her friend Blaine, it seemed as though their lives were just intertwined now.

With another look at the locked bathroom door, Noah sighed. "Okay baby girl, I'll be back in a second."

Rachel stared back at the dark-haired man with tears threatening to spill over her cheeks. The words Carter spewed felt like little accusations, which if she was correct in her assumptions, he had no right to make.

"How am I supposed to trust that you want this relationship to go anywhere when all you ever care about is your stupid job? You never have time for me anymore. Anytime I try to make plans with you, you say you're busy or tired." Rachel's glare hardened at his words. How _dare_ he!

"Really Carter," she demanded icily, "you're honestly going to question me over something like this when _you're_ the one who cancels dates constantly, _you're_ the one who claims to be tired or busy every time I try to have any time together. And don't you dare even think for one second that you can go and attack my job when it's _you_ who is constantly ditching me because you're needed at the office. You work at an advertising agency, I'm not stupid enough to believe that the company has that many last minute emergencies in which _your_ immediate attention is required. Do you really think that little of me, that I'm that stupid?" Carter didn't respond and Rachel crossed her arms in front of her. "That's what I thought. So don't go trying to transfer all of your shit onto me to make yourself feel better."

Before he could recover from the ire in her words, there was a knock on the door that startled them both. Rachel cleared her throat and wiped the angry tears from her face as she walked to the door. She hadn't been expecting to see a very worried-looking Noah Puckerman on the other side.

"Anna's locked herself in the bathroom and she won't talk to me. She asked for you though so could you please come upstairs and help me figure out what's wrong with her. Maybe she'll talk to you." He spoke in such a hurried frenzy that it took Rachel a moment to catch it all. When Noah looked into the apartment, he saw Carter standing there and had to fight the sneer from his face. Something about that guy, even though he'd only met him a couple of times in passing, rubbed him the wrong way. If the stressed out look in Rachel's eyes was any indication, he'd upset her recently. "Sorry, did I interrupt something?"

Rachel looked up in Noah's eyes and shook her head. "No, of course not." She turned on her heel and grabbed her keys before directing her voice to the other man in the apartment. "We'll resume our discussion when I get back. I need to help a friend." Noah watched Carter's mouth open to say something but Rachel stepped into the hallway and slammed the door. She started walking towards the elevator so Noah followed her.

"Is everything okay with you guys," he gently asked, not really sure what answer he was hoping for. Rachel cleared her throat again.

"I'd prefer not to talk about that right now. What's wrong with Anna?" With that change of subject, Noah spent the rest of the short elevator ride explaining what had been going on with Anna.

As he led Rachel towards the bathroom, he couldn't help wondering what was going on between her and her boyfriend. But that wasn't important at the moment. He needed her help.

"Baby girl, I got Rachel. Are you okay?" She didn't answer but he heard the lock click right before the door opened a crack.

"Rachel," Anna's voice was soft as she peeked through the crack, "can you come in here?" Rachel looked at Noah and saw the struggle in his eyes because it did in fact seem as though Anna was actively trying to not talk to him. With a sympathetic glance to him, she opened the door.

"I'm coming in Anna." Once Rachel was inside, she could tell that Anna had been crying. Using her body, Rachel blocked the door so the girl couldn't lock it again. If Noah needed to come in, he was free to do so. "Your father's really worried about you. What's going on?" Anna's arms came up across her chest in a defensive stance.

"I didn't mean to make him worry about me. It's just, this is embarrassing and I just couldn't talk to dad about it." Rachel tilted her head as she watched her grip her abdomen in pain. It suddenly hit Rachel what was going on. Noah had said Anna had been moody the past couple of days, and then she locked herself in the bathroom of all places instead of her own room. And it was something that she felt embarrassed to speak with her father about. Rachel knew exactly what was going on.

"Sweetie, did you start your period?" The crimson coloring that suddenly flooded Anna's cheeks was answer enough. Rachel nodded in understanding. She'd been through the same thing with her fathers when she'd been younger. Without really thinking about it, she reached out and took Anna in her arms. "Honey that's nothing to be embarrassed about. And certainly nothing to upset your dad so much over. It happens to all girls." Anna groaned on Rachel's shoulder.

"I went to health class. I know all of this but it still sucks. And I just didn't know how to talk about with him. It's _weird_." Rachel couldn't help laughing softly.

"I know that. Still, you owe your dad an explanation. He loves you a lot and you're lucky to have him. You may have hurt his feelings a little by refusing to tell him anything." Anna looked ashamed at the thought of hurting her dad. She didn't want that. "Okay, I'm gonna go back down to my apartment and get some stuff for you to use to until you can get to a store but while I'm gone, you should talk to your dad. This is not _that_ big of a deal that you shouldn't tell him about it." Anna nodded her head so Rachel let her go.

The look on Noah's face when she opened the bathroom door told that he'd heard most of the conversation.

"She started her period? _That's _what this whole thing is about? The way she was acting, I thought something bad had happened. She scared the shit out of me over her _period_!" Rachel instinctively placed her hands on Noah's chest to try and calm him down. They both took notice of the action and she lowered them just as quickly.

"She was embarrassed about it. It's understandable really." Noah didn't like feeling as though Rachel thought he couldn't take care of his own daughter. It only reminded him of all the times back in Lima just after Anna had been born. The whole fucking town had been convinced that he was a stupid kid who had no business raising a child himself. And maybe at the time, they'd been right, but he'd worked hard to prove them all wrong. So fuck them and fuck Rachel too if she thought that.

"I grew up in a house with two women," he growled at her, "I know all about the rag. I can handle it." Rachel shrank back just a little at the tense edge in his voice but then stood up straighter and met the man's gaze.

"I never insinuated that you didn't know how to deal with the situation. But with all due respect Noah, you're a man. And as a woman, I can tell you that the menstrual cycle is not generally high on the list of comfortable topics to be discussed with those in possession of a Y chromosome. Now, I will be back momentarily with some things for Anna. I'd honestly prefer if you didn't yell or growl at me when I return. I've had enough of that lately. I'm only trying to help."

As soon as Rachel shut the front door behind her, Noah felt bad over how he'd treated her, _after_ he'd gone to her for help in the first place. That's all she was doing and he'd let his stupid insecurities as a father creep back up, making him lash out at her. She didn't deserve that.

"I'm sorry daddy," Anna's voice sounded from the now open bathroom door. He felt his anger dissolve at that sound.

"S'okay baby girl."

Rachel unlocked her door expecting to see her boyfriend on the couch but there was no one there. Maybe he'd gone to the bathroom. "Carter," she called for him. The apartment was empty.

He just left.

Rachel felt her stomach clench violently. Of course he didn't care enough to at least finish an argument. It's nice to know when someone holds you in such _high_ regards.

Asshole.

Deciding that she now had more important things to worry about, Rachel quickly grabbed a basket and began filling it with tampons, pads, chocolate, and a heating pad all for Anna. Taking another look at the empty apartment, she had to clear her throat because it suddenly felt like it wanted to close.

Noah's eyes widened just a little bit when Rachel walked back into his place with a basket full of feminine products. As she handed it to Anna so she could look through it, he took Rachel by the arm and pulled her off to the side.

"I'm sorry about before. I've kind of lived my whole life with people doubting me and when I thought you were doing that, I got angry." Rachel shook her head.

"I would never doubt your ability as a father. Anna alone is proof that you're doing a marvelous job." Noah tried to shrug off her compliment but couldn't do it.

"Thanks. But seriously, I was out of line. Thank you for helping me, for helping Anna." Rachel smiled genuinely as she saw Anna breaking off a corner from one of the chocolate bars she'd put in the basket.

"I was a young girl once being raised by _two_ men. There's probably not a lot she'll go through that I haven't already. Of course Anna's a lot more secure in herself than I was at her age but still. I'm always just a couple flights of stairs away if you need any help." Rachel was somewhat caught off-guard by the seductive smirk he suddenly wore.

"Maybe it'd be easier if I had your number. Next time I need help or something, I wouldn't drop by unannounced." If Rachel hadn't just had an unfinished fight with a boyfriend she was still heavily considering cutting loose, she would've thought his request was completely inappropriate. But considering the situation, she wrote her number down on the notepad beside the door.

"There you go. Be sure to let me know the next time I can help."

When Rachel got back to her door, she took a deep breath before she walked inside. Her argument with Carter came flooding back to her mind. It was ridiculously clear that she was nowhere on his list of priorities. Was it so wrong to want someone to care about you? As she climbed under her blankets in her bed and another tear trickled down her cheek to land on her pillow, she couldn't help thinking that apparently it was.


	5. Chapter 5

**a/n: Hey! Here's the latest chapter! I hope everyone enjoys it because writing was a bit of a rollercoaster for me. Also, first M chapter but not for the reason you think. I don't own 'Red High Heels' or Glee. Please review!**

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><p>No matter what happened, Blaine just couldn't wipe the smile off of his face. It was the best feeling in the world. Three weeks ago, if someone had told him that he'd be in one of the happiest relationships he'd ever had, he would've laughed in their face. But it was true. And he had Rachel to thank. When she'd talked him into going to dinner with her to the Puckerman's apartment, she'd failed to mention the other man that would be there. The first time he'd looked into Kurt's eyes over a bowl of what Anna kept referring to as 'smashed potatoes', he couldn't help all the cutesy scenarios that began running through his head. The way he spoke with an air of confidence, the way his mouth curved slightly before it became a full-blown smile, his fantastic fashion sense, all of it just made Blaine want to get closer.<p>

Their first date had been a hilarious disaster in which Kurt accidentally spilled red wine all over himself because he was apparently nervous. Even though Blaine knew it wasn't really 'first date protocol', he'd had to kiss him at the end of the night simply because he couldn't remember ever laughing that hard. (And, you know, because he just _really_ wanted to kiss Kurt.) Each date since then had been wonderful though, including the one the previous night where he'd slept over at Kurt's apartment rather than going home. Was it moving a little faster than he was used to? Yes. But did _any_ part of it feel wrong? Good _god_ no.

So yes, Blaine walked through the halls of the arts complex in the rumpled clothes he'd been wearing the night before, his hair in a complete disarray of tangled curls, his bowtie hanging untied down his chest, but with the biggest smile ever on his face. He had one goal in mind and that was to find Rachel so he could gush about his new boyfriend to his best friend.

As he neared the room that Rachel usually used for her vocal coaching, he heard voices. Not the usual singing of notes and arpeggios that generally floated from the room but spoken words. One voice was unmistakable as Rachel but Blaine couldn't place the deeper male voice so he stopped short at the door to listen in and spy.

"This is something I need to do Will," Rachel said, and Blaine realized that she was talking to Will Schuester, the man who ran the arts complex, her boss.

"But you're the best vocal coach I have Rachel. Did you know that after Lea won her Tony last year, I had to start wait-listing people because so many of them wanted you to coach them? I don't know what I'll do if you leave." Blaine moved so he could see them both standing by the piano. The tall curly-haired man looked completely lost, like someone was threatening to take away his favorite toy. Rachel only looked more determined but Blaine couldn't understand what was going on. Was Rachel quitting her job? Why? More importantly, why was this the first time he was hearing about it?

Rachel smiled up at the man and patted him on the shoulder. "You ran this place just fine before I got here and you'll do just as well if I leave. But for the time being, I'll need more free time and deferring my students to the other coaches is the best idea. That way, they'll still be receiving quality vocal coaching and you won't lose business. If you let the other coaches know what's happening, I'll tell my students and recommend what teacher would be best for their particular style." Blaine easily recognized the no-nonsense voice Rachel was using, and apparently Will did too.

"Okay, I guess," Will took a deep breath before he pulled Rachel to him. Blaine had always thought the man had a serious lack of professionalism but he generally left Rachel alone because, as he'd said before, she was _the_ best coach around. "Whatever happens Rachel, I'll be happy for you. I wish you the best." Rachel smiled again and backed away from the man.

As Will exited through a separate door, Blaine walked in.

"You know you're terrible at eavesdropping," Rachel chided him with a lilt in her voice. She took in his appearance and furrowed her brows. "Blaine Anderson, are you currently doing the walk of no-shame-whatsoever?" Despite the question that had been on the tip of his tongue, and the fact that he'd actually made this trip for the purpose of talking about his relationship status, Blaine couldn't help the silly grin that came to his face in response.

Flourishing his hands in front of him, he quickly nodded his head. "Yes I am but we'll get to me in a second. What's going on with you that I _have_ to eavesdrop in order to find out about it in the first place?" The guilty look that flashed in her eyes was suddenly overshadowed by a blinding smile he hadn't seen in years.

"I'm going back Blaine," she said simply. He waited for her to say more but she didn't.

"Going back where? And why are you sending your students to other teachers?" Are you quitting your job? Why haven't you said anything to me about this?" Rachel giggled at his concern and grabbed a folded-up piece of paper from the top of the piano.

Blaine unfolded the paper and quickly realized it was a letter to Rachel, from a director. He recognized the man's name from back when he and Rachel had spent their childhood under the lights of Broadway.

The reason Blaine had found such a true and lasting friend in Rachel was because they'd never had to compete for parts. At six years old, he'd met Rachel backstage as an extra for _Billy Elliot_, and then again at an audition for a musical that never made it off the ground. After that, they were part of the same workshop to help child actors. It became quite evident that most of the other girls didn't care for Rachel because they were jealous of the raw talent she possessed already at such a young age. That made it easy for Blaine to approach her: they weren't competition. Girls' and boys' parts on the stage were often mere background roles but whenever the audition came up for real speaking roles, they always supported each other. As the two grew older, still spending much of their teenage years together, on stage and off, Rachel was the first person Blaine came out to. When Rachel was nominated for her first Drama Desk Award, she told Blaine first.

Seeing the director's name at the top of the paper, Paul Montrose elaborated on stationery, caused Blaine to look up at Rachel. She just nodded her head for him to keep reading. The letter went on to say that he was starting a workshop for a new musical that showed more promise than he'd seen in years. In order to keep that, he only wanted actors who showed as much promise and he immediately thought of Rachel for the lead. He stated that he realized she was 'retired' but hoped she would consider coming to audition for the role.

Then it hit Blaine all at once. She'd received a personal letter from a well-known Broadway director stating that he wanted her for a lead role and now she was deferring students, saying things like 'I'm going back'.

"You're coming out of retirement," Blaine questioned, his voice far higher than he'd intended. "You're really going to do this?" All of the emotions running through his brain were overshadowed by the utter happiness he suddenly felt for his friend.

"I'm really going to do this." Rachel took a deep breath, stood a little straighter, seemed more _Rachel_. "He sent me the script and it's incredible. The songs are even more amazing. I love everything about it. So yes, I'm planning to audition."

She wanted to laugh at the way Blaine tossed the letter back down on the piano so his arms were free to wrap around her shoulders. "My god Rachel this is amazing! Why didn't you say anything earlier?" Rachel grinned widely, feeling really light in her chest.

"Because a lot of thinking has gone into this decision. But that's not all. I am taking this letter as a sign. Yes, I'm going to audition for this role because it's incredible and I would be _originating_ an entire character. But, if I don't get the part," Blaine rolled his eyes at her, "I believe it's time for me to get back out there. You've been telling me for years that my talent is wasted on coaching and I think I'm finally starting to see it. So, I'm deferring my students so I can start going on auditions again. I won't make the amateur mistake of assuming that just because Mr. Montrose wrote this letter to me that they're just going to _give_ me the part. I realize that there is always a chance of not getting it. I'm okay with that actually. But I'm also okay with going to auditions again, doing what I love, getting back in touch with the real me, and finding the heart I left on the stage years ago. It's taken me too long to realize that I'm not whole and I refuse to waste any more time pretending to be happy when I'm not." Rachel's smile reached her eyes. Just saying everything, getting it all out, felt better than she'd ever imagined.

"Rach, this is incredible. You're going to be amazing. You _are_ amazing." Blaine hugged her again. Knowing that Rachel would back on a stage, back in the limelight, back to _Rachel_ made him ridiculously happy.

"That's not all," she began again. "Since I'm getting back to me, I'm ending things with Carter, officially. When we first started dating, he was safe and secure but there was never any excitement. The real me would never have settled for safe and I won't do it any longer, especially when I'm positive that 'safe and secure' has one foot out the door anyway. I was planning to go to his office during lunch to break up with him." An evil smiled crossed Blaine's features as he stepped back to take in Rachel's outfit.

She was wearing a simple cream-colored sweater dress with long sleeves and a black belt to give it more definition and pop. Her hair was straight and flowing while her make-up was simple and beautiful as always. But what caught his attention were the patent leather cherry red heels on her feet. Rachel looked stunning. "So is that why you've gone all 'Kellie Pickler'? So he can watch you walk if he wants to wants to?" Rachel gave a full-bodied laugh and a coy shrug of her shoulders at his quip.

"Well if he does have someone on the side, I want him to regret it. I still can't prove that he's been cheating on me but that doesn't mean I should remain a part of an unhealthy relationship. I owe it to myself to put this to an end so I can start fresh. This is the new Rachel Barbra Berry." Blaine couldn't help chuckling at her announcement as he shook his head.

"No honey, this is the _old_ Rachel Barbra Berry, and it's damn good to see her again." Rachel giggled softly and he noticed how free she sounded. It sounded almost as pleasant as her singing voice.

"Well," she smiled, "now that we have my news out of the way, are you going to explain why the man I once accused of changing outfits more than me looks like he's wearing _yesterday's_ clothes all over again? Is it Kurt? Are you two still hitting it off? I feel like I've missed so much these last few weeks. Gush time. Tell me everything." Rachel scooted to the end of the piano bench and patted the empty part for Blaine to sit down.

With his goofy smile back in place, Blaine gave a happy sigh. "I know it's soon but," he paused for effect, "I think he's the Dolce to my Gabbana."

* * *

><p>Rachel walked down the hallway with her head held high. Perhaps the plan of surprising Carter at his office had its flaws but considering how flaky he'd been, it seemed the best option. She didn't want to take the chance of warning him only to have him duck out at the last minute.<p>

Her heels clicked against the cold tile floor as her steps quickened, suddenly more eager to be rid of her boyfriend once and for all.

"Ms. Berry, what are you doing here?" Rachel had to stop as there was suddenly a very mean woman blocking her path. Carter's secretary, Mrs. Locke, was quite possibly one of the most horrible women she'd ever come in contact with. The lady was evil incarnate and usually addressed her with a very icy 'Rachel'. Needless to say, her frenzied voice coupled with her uncharacteristic 'Ms. Berry' led Rachel to believe something was going on.

"Hello Mrs. Locke, I need to speak with Carter. It's his lunchtime but I promise I'll only be a moment." Rachel sidestepped the secretary and resumed her path. Her escape was short-lived as the woman was instantly in her way all over again.

"I can't let you do that!" The frantic look in her eyes caused Rachel's suspicions to grow. She crossed her arms and began to impatiently tap her foot, staring up at the much older lady.

"And why is that?" Rachel rolled her eyes when Mrs. Locke stumbled over her words, seemingly trying to search her brain for an answer. She didn't have time for this. All she wanted was to break up with the man and be done.

"Because he's in a meeting. Yes, a very important meeting and he specifically asked not to be disturbed, by anyone." Rachel knew a lie when she heard one. What was Mrs. Locke hiding? For Carter?

"Okay then would you like to explain to me why Carter, the man who is always meticulous in his scheduling, would randomly schedule an important meeting during his lunch hour?" Mrs. Locke's mouth dropped open, unable to answer Rachel's question. Poking holes in that lie was a piece of cake. "That's what I thought. Now as I said before, I need to speak with Carter and I will only be a moment. Excuse me." Rachel was somewhat surprised at the authority she heard in her own voice. Apparently Mrs. Locke was too because she didn't rush to block Rachel's path again.

Rachel made her way to Carter's office, still wondering about the odd behavior she'd experienced from the man's employee. Her answer was just behind his door.

"Carter, I apologize for intruding but we need to talk and it just couldn't—" Rachel froze in the doorway, her words becoming bile in her throat. Theorizing that Carter was cheating on her was completely different from seeing it with her own eyes.

Carter jumped up from his desk chair, rushing to refasten his pants, as the woman who'd been on her knees in front of him, whom Rachel vaguely recognized as the receptionist from the lobby downstairs, stumbled trying to stand. The guilty look on both of their faces was almost laughable. Both Carter and the woman tried to right their clothing but it was far too late for that. Rachel had already seen more than enough.

"R-r-Rachel, baby what are doing here?" He tried to sound less winded, more innocent and shocked that his girlfriend had come to visit him at work. Like _that_ would possibly work.

While she felt a little bit vindicated by knowing that he was in fact cheating on her, Rachel was instantly angry and hurt that she'd had to see his infidelity in progress. Taking a deep breath, Rachel compartmentalized those emotions to deal with later and found the words she'd had in her head all morning. Suddenly, they were even easier to say. "Carter we need to break up. We are _clearly_ no longer committed to this relationship and it's ridiculous to keep up the horrid façade." Carter blinked owlishly, like he honestly couldn't believe what she was saying despite the fact that the receptionist still had remnants of the interrupted blow job on her chin. He started to open his mouth but Rachel couldn't have cared less what he had to say. "Save it," she spat, her hand up to stop him, "I came here to break up with you and that's what I've done. Catching your lying ass with this tramp just made it even easier." The anger was building up more so she glared a hole through his head and bit out a firm "thank you" before turning to leave.

Not caring about fake pleasantries, Rachel pushed Mrs. Locke aside, who'd been listening at the door (_yenta_), and walked as fast as she could to the elevator. It wasn't until she got down to the lobby and saw the empty receptionist's desk that her anger officially got the best of her. Going stealthily over to the desk, Rachel sat down and ran her finger across the directory list, quickly finding the extension number she needed. With a glance around her to make sure she hadn't been noticed, she dialed the number for Carter's boss.

"Steven Maudin, how can I help you?" Rachel cleared her throat , released the tension in her voice, and began speaking in a calm aloof manner.

"Mr. Maudin, I just thought you would be interested to know that the receptionist in your lobby is currently partaking in illicit activities with another employee named Carter Landon. I feel as though such a blatant disregard for professionalism shouldn't be ignored. If you could handle this matter, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you." Rachel hung up before the man could respond. She had no interest in giving her name or anything, just to cause Carter and his new friend a little trouble. They wouldn't get fired…probably.

Once outside, Rachel sat down on the edge of the fountain just in front of the building. She needed to clear her head, reorganize her thoughts. By the time it all really sank in, angry tears were falling down her cheeks. Who knew how long he'd been sneaking around behind her back? It hurt, to matter that little to someone. Even though they'd had a lot of problems, cheating had never entered her mind. But now, to know exactly what had been happening all that time, it was horrible.

Furiously wiping away the tears, he didn't deserve any of her emotions, she grabbed her phone and pressed Blaine's speed dial. The second he picked up, Rachel growled, "The bastard _was _cheating on me. Can you meet me at my place with chocolate ice cream? I'll worry about lactose ramifications later." Blaine sighed softly on the line and answered,

"Sure thing sweetness."

* * *

><p>Noah's eyes shut tight as the tall blonde rolled her body above his. Brittany's knees dug in his hips, holding on just a little tighter. Each time she sank down on his shaft, he had to groan. Woman's body was crazy flexible and she loved showing everything off. He slipped his hands up her sides, cupping her pale breasts, and flicked her nipples with his thumbs.<p>

"Oh man Britt, baby come on," he muttered. She just fucking giggled down at him before licking his Adam's apple. Noah bucked his hips upwards a couple of times. Brittany's soft laughter immediately became excited moans. He grinned to himself and pulled her down to crush his lips to hers.

Brittany started to bounce a little more vigorously and he could feel his balls tightening. Noah pounded up into her, making her pretty little mouth fall open more as she got closer and closer to her climax. Finally, she rolled down at an angle that pressed her clit against his pelvic bone. It made her completely fall apart in a fit of shaking and whimpers. Noah waited until she was completely finished before he spilled into the condom he wore.

Brittany fell over on his chest with another giggle and inhaled deeply. "That was fun," she stated simply. Noah had to chuckle. The woman used that phrase for just about everything.

"It usually is Britt." She nodded her head in agreement as she rolled off of him onto the fluffy mattress. It wasn't until after he'd disposed of the condom and was tugging his clothes back on that he noticed the worried look on her face. Brittany never worried about anything. One of the things he liked about her was how carefree she was about everything. It always made their arrangement so much easier. "Hey, you okay?"

"We can't be fuck buddies anymore." The way she said it, like she thought he'd get pissed off or something, threw him off a little bit. Noah sat back down on the edge of the bed beside her and cleared his throat.

"Okay, um, did I do something? What's wrong?" At that, Brittany smiled and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. _That_ really threw him off.

"No! You're awesome and really great in bed, and a really good friend too. But I met this guy and I really like him. Like _really_ like him. And you know me, usually I date guys but me and you still fool around whenever we need to. With this guy though, I think I would feel weird seriously dating him while having casual sex with you whenever the urge hits, like I was cheating on him or something. Do you get what I'm saying?"

Noah had to smile at her. Brittany was one of the sweetest women he knew, the best fuck buddy he'd ever had, and actually a pretty good friend. And yeah, his dick would probably hate him for it but, if she wanted to stop their thing to go chasing love, he couldn't tell her no.

"Yeah babe I get it. He's a lucky guy." Brittany took in his smile and words then hugged him all over again.

"Yay! I knew you'd understand." He chuckled again and leaned over to lick at her neck.

"I kinda wish you would've told me earlier so we could've gone all out for our last time. Remember when I made you walk funny?" That earned him a playful shove as Brittany shook her head.

"As much fun as that was, everyone in the dance studio laughed at me for like a week. I had bruises on my inner things and couldn't wear my leotard without yoga pants over it."

Noah finished getting dressed so he could go back home where Kurt was having a movie night with Anna. Brittany walked him to the door, giving him another hug so he kissed her on the forehead.

"Good luck with your new man," he whispered warmly. "I'll see you around babe." She laughed and pressed her lips to his cheek.

"Say hi to Anna for me."

As he started down the stairs of Brittany's building, Noah realized that he wouldn't be getting laid any time in the foreseeable future. Because of Anna, he didn't date or anything, keeping his body sated with the occasional one night stand and fuck buddies like Brittany. He'd always felt like dating someone would take his attention away from his daughter which he never wanted to do. He hadn't even been dating Anna's mother at the time she'd been conceived. In truth, they couldn't stand each other, only having slept together because they'd both been young, stupid, and horny at the time. Noah still felt guilty sometimes whenever he thought about Alison Nicole Jacobs, about the night she died.

When they'd found out that she was pregnant, he'd been terrified. But surprisingly, it wasn't the notion of being a father that froze his blood in his veins. He'd been scared that Alison would try to cut him out of their child's life since they pretty much hated each other. Then the night of the accident, she'd gone out in the rain to feed one of her crazy pregnancy cravings instead of calling him to help her. He couldn't remember actually hoping that Alison made it through the wreck, just that his baby girl was okay. Since Alison's initials began with A.N. and her favorite song had been 'Anna Molly', it seemed to fit that the least he could do was name their daughter in memory of her.

But Anna was older now. Kurt was constantly trying to set him up with women he knew. His mother constantly asked him if her granddaughter had a good female influence in her life. Noah could put two and two together. Maybe the idea of dating, or at least looking around in search of more than just another fuck buddy to replace Brittany, didn't seem so bad. He'd need to talk to Anna of course before doing anything.

When he got home, Anna was asleep on the couch and Kurt was finishing off a bowl of popcorn. Once he put Anna in her room, (she'd bitch at him in the morning for carrying her to bed because she was too old for that kind of thing; fuck that, she was his baby girl no matter how old she got and some traditions were too hard to let go of) he sat down and thought about telling Kurt about the possibilities that he might get into the dating world. But then he realized that Kurt and Blaine had been getting pretty serious lately and the last thing he wanted was Kurt suggesting a double-date.

He didn't think about dating again for the next couple of days. Work and Anna kept him pretty busy so it surprised him just a little when he saw Rachel in the elevator one afternoon and his first thought was _Ask her out_. Then he remembered she had a douche of a boyfriend and bit his tongue. They carried on an easy conversation but Noah couldn't help noticing that there was a new fire in her eyes, an excitement in her voice, that hadn't been there the last time he'd seen her. What was _that_ about?


	6. Chapter 6

**a/n: Hi! Anybody interested in what Anna's got up her sleeve? Hope so! Thank you all so much for supporting me with this story. I can't get over how amazing you guys are. I don't own "Without You", "One & Only", or Glee. Please read and review! Thank you so much again and always!**

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><p>No matter what happened, only one thought was in his mind. <em>Kurt Hummel was gonna pay for this.<em>

"So then, I told the sales lady that she needed to get me the mauve Prada handbag instead of the maroon Prada clutch before I talked to the manager and got her fired. I mean can you believe her? She tried to give me attitude. Some people just don't know their place, you know what I mean?" Noah gripped his fork a little tighter, willing his hand not to stab his eye just so he'd have an excuse to get out of the worst blind date in the history of the universe.

Telling Anna that he was planning to start dating had gone better than he'd thought it would. She got this little look in her eyes like she was pretty glad about it. That was odd. It wasn't like Noah expected her to throw a fit or anything but still, odd. Telling Kurt, however, had gone _exactly_ like he thought it would. The man had gotten all giddy and his voice rose a few octaves more than it was normally, demanding to be allowed to set him up on a few dates just to help get him started. Noah had started to say hell no to that plan because he would have no problem getting a date by himself. Then he realized that most of the women he knew weren't exactly the dating type _and_ that he was a single father which had the tendency to send women running in the opposite direction. Even though he wasn't as old as most men with a twelve year old, he still wasn't dumb enough to think he was the same seventeen year old kid who could get women at the drop of a hat. So, reluctantly, Noah agreed to let Kurt set him up on a date.

A decision he was now regretting with ever fiber of his being.

The woman sitting across from him was a redhead bombshell with a body built for fun and sin. But then she had to go and open her mouth. Felicia, he wasn't crazy about the name, was quite possibly the most stuck up, snotty, self-absorbed, pretentious, horrible bitch he'd ever met in his life. Once thing he knew from having worked in foodservice at a young age was that you should _never_ be rude to those handling your food. Apparently, Felicia didn't care about that rule because she'd been a complete bitch to their waiter when she'd ordered. Noah was trying really hard not to laugh each time she took a bite because, if he'd read the waiter's expression correctly, there were probably a few extra _additives_ in her food. He was starting to think that Kurt might be pissed at him or something. Why else would his best friend think he would have any interest in this woman? Then he realized that no, he hadn't done a damn thing to Kurt to deserve this.

"Hello, are you even listening to me? What? Do I have to write down words in a book thing to make you listen to me?" Noah bit his tongue. Questioning whether or not she could even read or write would most likely end with a handprint across his face and as much as he wanted the date to be over, he wasn't about to get slapped to do it.

"Actually, could you excuse me for a minute? I need to go to the men's room." Noah got up before she could say anything and headed towards the restroom as fast as he could. After checking to make sure the two stalls were empty, he locked the main door and pulled out his cell phone. He almost wanted to sneer at Kurt's name on his screen as he dialed.

"Having fun," the man's voice asked when he answered. It sounded like he was laughing about something, probably the shitty date he'd set him up on.

"Is that supposed to be a joke," he snarled, "because she is the single worst woman I have _ever_ met in my entire life. Why in the ever loving fuck would you set me up with her?" Kurt tried to hide his girly little snicker but Noah heard it just the same.

"I was just feeling you out. Now that I know you aren't looking for the bitchy socialite type, I have something to work with." Noah growled again.

"This isn't a game dude. I can't believe you would do this to me. I'm about to walk out on the date right now. If I'd wanted to lose this many brain cells in one hour, I would've gone to a fucking bar and gotten plastered. I'd never do that because of Anna but you get my point. I should kill you. I should ditch this bitch right now and kill you." Kurt laughed. He fucking _laughed_. And not nervous hyena laughter either! He really thought this shit was funny.

"Now now Mr. Curmudgeon, Felicia can't be that bad," Kurt said dismissively. Noah rolled his eyes.

"Hummel, I'm actually praying that the waiter who probably spit in her food has some mutant strain of flu. Considering the skirts I used to chase in high school, I know a bitch when I see one and I'm having dinner with their damn _queen_!" Again with the laughing. It was a good thing Kurt was laughing so much at this situation because Noah was getting closer and closer to seeing violence as a very good plan of action for dealing with his ass of a friend.

"Okay so she's a little much. Just don't skip out on her or I'll never hear the end of it_ and_ I'll lose my invitation to Fashion Week. Besides, how bad would it look if, on your first excursion in the dating world, you couldn't even make it through the whole thing? Sometimes you have to eat with the queen bitches before you can get to the sweet princesses." Noah groaned and rolled his eyes at his reflection, hoping that Kurt would just sense that it was directed at him.

"You know I hate it when you use dumb metaphors in relation to me."

"Yes I do but it's too much fun to stop now. Just stay until the end of the date and then you'll never have to see her again. I'll take half your stack of manuscripts off your hands at work." Noah groaned but realized that Kurt taking half of his manuscript load would give him time to get caught up on the rest of the crap he'd let pile up. It'd help him out a lot.

"Fine," Noah bit out, "I'll stay until the end of the date. You must really like Fashion Week. You better be walking a fucking runway after what I've had to put up with tonight." Kurt just gave this light chuckle and replied,

"Yeah, I really like Fashion Week. Bye Puckerman."

Noah stared at his reflection for a few more minutes, stalling as best he could. Fuck, he _really_ didn't want to go back out to that table.

Kurt hit the 'end' button on his phone and grinned down at Anna.

"I'm positive your dad hates me now. This better be worth it." Anna leaned against the counter in Rachel's kitchen with a scheming grin on her face and Kurt couldn't help thinking that she looked so much like her father. Beautiful.

"It is," Anna assured him, "the more he hates these dates that you set him up on, the more he'll like it when he finally works up the balls to ask Rachel out. I can't risk him actually liking any of the chicks he dates so this is the best option." Kurt had to laugh at the girl. It would seem she had it all worked out in her mind.

Now Kurt wasn't exactly privy to the entire plan that Anna had concocted, just his role in it. Anna wanted to bring Rachel closer to her dad, which only really started to seem possible once Noah decided that he was ready to started dating around the same time Rachel broke up with her boyfriend. Considering the terms with which her relationship ended, Rachel's grieving period for that relationship had been pretty short. Kurt's part was simple. Continue to set Noah up with ridiculously unsuitable women until he figured out that Rachel was right under his nose. He wasn't really positive how Anna could see potential between Noah and Rachel given that the pair hadn't exactly spent much time alone together but Anna saw something and that was enough for Kurt. Besides, it was always fun to mess with Noah anyway.

He suspected that much of Anna's reasoning for wanting to get Rachel and Noah together had to do with Anna's own attachment towards the woman. Since they'd moved into their new apartment and Anna had started spending much of her free time in Rachel's company, Kurt had noticed a change in Anna. She was still the snarky smart-mouthed pre-teen adolescent he loved and adored, but there was definitely something different about her. Rachel was good to her, and it showed.

"Well he definitely hates this one. He just threatened to duck out early so he could come kick my ass. I hope you know what you're doing honey because you may not have an Uncle Kurt for very much longer." Anna laughed and shook her head.

"Don't worry Uncle Kurt, I'll make sure dad doesn't take it out on you. Once he's with Rachel, he'll be like a little bear cub." Kurt snorted at the fact that to Anna, a bear cub was harmless. Those little balls of fur still had teeth and claws that could cause serious damage.

"Okay I have to ask, what is it that you see between those two?" Anna shrugged at his question.

"I can't really explain it. When my dad looks at her, he just looks all happy and goofy. And when Rachel looks at my dad, she looks like she just found something that she'd been looking for. I don't know. I think that something could happen. The only problem is that I can never seem to get dad and Rachel together long enough to _make_ anything happen. But the plan will work. It has to." Anna leaned against the counter and took Kurt's water out of his hand. "Come on, we need to get back out there. Rachel's counting on all of us to help her make this decision."

Kurt followed Anna back into Rachel's living room and plopped down beside Blaine. Rachel had been asked to watch Anna for the night while Noah went on his date from hell. Rachel had her big audition coming up so she'd asked Blaine to come by and help her pick out her monologue and songs that she would sing. Kurt came with Blaine and it turned into a private showing of Rachel's awesomeness. No one had a problem with that.

Anna watched as the tears streaked freely down Rachel's cheeks. This was the third monologue she'd done so far and Anna couldn't stop watching. Rachel was usually so much fun to be around that seeing her in the intense dramatic element was incredible. She was even better in person than she'd been in the YouTube videos Anna had found. When she acted, it didn't seem like regular acting. It was like Rachel _became_ the character she was portraying. She took on completely different mannerisms, a change in her tone of voice, even the way she carried herself wasn't the same anymore. Add all of that to the fact that the performance was taking place only four feet away made it so much more than a performance. It was so _real_. _Rachel_ was real.

"By the time I realized that he was dead, I couldn't get rid of that gun fast enough. The world was a better place without that man so I wasn't about to go to jail for getting rid of him. The cops are most likely still looking for me, but I don't care. I spent my life running from _him_ and now that I don't have to, the cops don't scare me anymore. _Nothing_ scares me anymore." Rachel paused at the end of her monologue, closed her eyes, and reflected on her performance. It'd been flawless, just like the others she'd done that night. The choice of which monologue to perform at her audition was proving to be far more difficult than she'd originally anticipated. She wiped her cheeks and cleared her throat. "Well, what did everyone think of that one?"

Nobody moved for a moment, absorbing it all. Two of the three of them looked stunned while the other had a look of knowing awe.

"Rachel," Anna was the first to speak, "you gotta do that one. I mean, the other two were great and all but, something about that one, it was different. I know I don't have a clue how these auditions work or anything but isn't the point to make the people watching feel something?" Rachel nodded her head. "Well I really felt that one. You almost made me cry and I don't cry that much. That's freaking saying something!" Kurt nodded his head vigorously in agreement. He could count on one hand how many tears he'd witnessed the child shed over the years.

"She's right," Blaine spoke up, "the emotion of a scorned woman on the run, a fearless vigilante, that connects with people. It'll connect with Montrose. I think you've found your monologue. That part is as good as yours." Rachel smiled at the small group in her apartment. It felt like a support system was in place, one that she'd never dreamed of having. The feeling was wonderful.

"Okay then, so we have one-third of my audition. Next, I need two songs." Rachel moved to her laptop to pull up her music library. Anna walked up behind her and looked over her shoulder at the computer screen.

"Why do you need two songs," she asked, spotting some unexpected artists in Rachel's library.

"The music for the show has a contemporary feel to it so I need two songs to showcase my range. One will be a Broadway standard and the other is going to be a more mainstream song." Anna grinned, seeing an opportunity to help her plan along.

"If dad was here, he could totally help out. He knows more music than anybody I can think of." Kurt seemed to see where Anna was going and had to grin at her tenacity. Seeing no harm, he added blithely,

"Yeah and he can play it all too." When they saw how their comments caught Rachel's attention, Anna and Kurt shared a sneaky 'good job partner' glance.

"What does Noah play?" Anna hid her snicker at Rachel's question but answered,

"Pretty much everything. Guitar and piano mostly but he knows how to play a bunch of other instruments too." She could see the soft smile on Rachel's face. Yep, Rachel totally liked that little tidbit of information.

"Hmm," Rachel hummed, "I didn't know that." Anna decided to lay it on a little bit thicker.

"Well maybe you two should hang out more often," she stated simply, "then you'd know more things about each other." Rachel eyed Anna curiously but then Blaine pointed to a song on the computer screen so her attention was sufficiently distracted for the moment.

It took a lot less time to choose Rachel's audition songs than it had to choose her monologue. That's when Blaine took off towards Rachel's room and came back with hangers full of clothes. Anna then realized that the night wasn't over. Choosing the outfit Rachel would wear for the audition was almost as important as choosing the pieces she would perform. When Rachel's changing of outfits suddenly became an impromptu fashion show, Anna saw more of the fun side of Rachel that she'd come to love. The woman could be so serious one moment and then laugh the next. Something about her was both free and controlled. Rachel was just really interesting, no matter what was happening.

Rachel was back in her room changing into her fifth outfit (for the fun of it since they'd already found her audition outfit) when Blaine heard a knock on the door. Through the peephole, he saw one very annoyed Noah Puckerman.

"Hey man, what's up," Blaine greeted when he opened the door. "You look like hell." Noah raised his chin to acknowledge that he already knew that and stepped into the apartment.

"Yeah well it's your boyfriend's fault. Hope you don't mind if I kill him." Blaine chuckled at the somewhat terrified look on Kurt's face. "You're fired. I don't want you anywhere near my dating life again. That woman literally made me want to punch myself in the throat, and that was just to distract myself from how horrible she was. I hate you Hummel." Before Kurt could respond to his friend's growl, the door to Rachel's bedroom opened and everyone turned to look at her.

She'd changed into a long pink sweater that fell off one shoulder with black leggings underneath. The boots she wore came up above her knees. There was something so feminine in the playful way she strutted into the room.

"Damn," Noah muttered, and despite the music playing and the laughter that filled the room, everyone heard him. When all eyes were on him, Noah figured he might as well own it. "You look really great Rachel." His voice came out much lower than he'd intended but Rachel smiled at him so he assumed she didn't mind.

"Thank you. We were all just messing around. How was your date with Felicia Huffman? All the trashy gossip rags say she's a handful." Noah rolled his eyes at the reminder.

"That's an understatement. She was a," he paused, trying to decide whether or not he should tell the truth and figured what the hell, "well she was a fucking bitch. Anna, don't repeat anything I just said." Anna giggled and got up from the couch. She wrapped her arms around his middle and looked up at her dad.

"Don't worry dad, I learned how to paraphrase a long time ago." Everyone laughed at Anna's statement but Rachel stepped closer, touching her fingertips to his arm.

"I'm sorry it didn't work out for you Noah. I hope your next date goes better. You deserve a good woman." Anna could hear the change in Rachel's voice when she was speaking directly to her dad. There was no denying it. _Something_ was there. So, once again, seeing an opening in Rachel's words, Anna took it.

"You know dad, Rachel's a good woman. Single too!" Subtlety was for schmucks anyway.

Noah wanted to chastise Anna just a little but he was too hung up on her last two words. Rachel was— "Single? What happened to Carter?" He didn't bother masking the sneer that overtook his face at the mention of the other mans' name. Rachel sneered as well.

"He's out of the picture. I don't want people like him around. They only draw negative energy and that is something that I have no time or use for." Rachel then smiled up at him and changed the subject. "We could've used your talents tonight. Anna says you're quite gifted with a guitar. It would've come in handy when we were picking out my music earlier." Noah smirked and lowered his voice.

"Maybe I'll show you some time." Rachel didn't really know what was happening. It felt like flirting, but then with everyone else in the room, including his daughter, she really wasn't sure. "Okay Anna, you got school in the morning so your butt needs to be in bed. Kurt, you'll have a nice stack of manuscripts waiting for you tomorrow. Blaine, can you please control him better?" Blaine laughed again and shrugged his shoulders. "Thanks for tonight Rachel."

"Bye Rachel," Anna grinned, "your audition is gonna be awesome."

As they were waiting for the elevator, Noah couldn't stop thinking about Rachel. _Single_ Rachel. For some reason, that felt like a game changer.

Anna watched her dad with a knowing smile. Sometimes, the dude was just too easy.

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><p><em>So I dare you to let me be your, your one and only.<em>

_I promise I'm worthy, to hold in your arms._

_So come on and give me the chance,_

_To prove I am the one who can_

_Walk that mile until the end starts._

_Until the end starts._

Rachel let the end of the song hang in the air, thick with emotion. She could see that, even though they tried to hide it behind masks of apathy, the casting director and director were impressed by the song. After singing "Without You" from _Rent_ for her Broadway standard, she'd suddenly felt an old emotion begin to well up in her stomach. Fulfillment. It had taken her by surprise at first. A very pleasant surprise.

Then as the pianist had started the opening part of Adele's "One and Only", she got another surprise. The face of a man appeared in her mind, hazel eyes, strong jaw, full lips, and she kept him there. Using Noah's image in her mind, singing the song to him in a way, made it feel right. She could feel the connection taking place in her voice, the difference thinking of him made. That had never happened before.

"That was great Ms. Berry. Whenever you're ready to begin your monologue, the stage is yours." The warmth in the casting director's voice wasn't something he'd bestowed on any other auditioning actresses that day. Rachel smiled confidently out into the small audience. She knew right then that no matter what, the man was right.

The stage was hers.


	7. Chapter 7

**a/n: Hello! Anyone up for more of Anna's scheming? Sleepovers? A little Puckleberry action? It's all in this chapter! I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I really loved writing it and I'm honestly crazy excited to start on the **_**next**_** chapter…**_**fun**_** is in store! Thank you all so much for the support for this story. You're all amazing. I don't own Glee… Please review!**

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><p>Kurt delicately lifted his glass of champagne up in the air and stood to his feet. He cleared his throat and waited for the other four people at the table to look his way. "I would like to propose a toast." Everyone followed suit, raising their glasses as well. "To Rachel. Even though our friendship is still fairly new, I find you to be magic when you perform. I can't think of anyone else more deserving of the part. Granted, I don't know what the part is but after having seen you practice for the audition and watching the many videos online, you're ideal for any role. Congratulations and cheers." Everyone's glasses clinked together and Rachel smiled her thanks.<p>

"Well you all helped me out with my audition preparations so I'd like to make a toast of my own." Rachel stood up from the table and giggled softly. "Noah, you were on your date from hell at the time so you didn't actually help with the preparations but I spoke with you the morning of my audition and you were quite effective at calming my nerves. Anna, your wonderful opinions on all of the monologues we went through helped me to make the right choice there. Kurt, your opinions on everything, while quite vocal at times, were more than worth it. And Blaine, you've been there practically since the beginning. I adore you all and I am so grateful to be surrounded by such amazing friends. Thank you so much." Glasses clinked again as Rachel returned to her seat.

When she'd received the phone call from Paul Montrose's casting director, a tiny man by the name of Thomas Niles, telling her that the role of Constance was hers, she'd almost dropped her phone. She'd actually been in a waiting room for another audition at the time he called. The other hopefuls had probably thought she was crazy with the way she ran out but she didn't care in the least. Her first thought was to call her fathers with the good news. After that, she dazedly sent out a mass text to the people who'd become her most cherished friends.

The same people who sat around the table with her in celebration. She'd wanted to do a nice home-cooked meal for everyone at her apartment but, at Anna's insistence (the girl was most persuasive), had decided to treat everyone to a fancy restaurant instead.

"Oh my god Rachel, you know what I just realized?" Everyone turned towards Blaine's voice. He grinned across the table at Rachel. "We didn't have our traditional pre-audition sleepover!" Both Noah's and Kurt's eyes grew wide at that and Anna joined the two men for a collective,

"_Sleepover_?" Rachel and Blaine couldn't help laughing at the group's surprise. It was hard for some people to really understand how close they'd become in their formative years.

"When Blaine and I were younger, anytime either of us had an audition, we would always have a sleepover. We would practice songs, speeches, getting to our marks at the right time, that sort of thing. It's been years since either of us auditioned for anything. I'd nearly forgotten about those nights. Blaine left the stage shortly after I did so we haven't had a real sleepover since then." Noah sputtered for a moment as he stared at Rachel, unbelieving. As a father, he found it really hard to swallow that in her childhood and teenage years, Rachel had had sleepovers with another boy. There was no way in hell he'd ever allow that to happen with Anna and seeing as Rachel had two fathers, it just didn't add up.

"So wait a second," Noah started, "your dads let you have sleepovers with another guy, just the two of you, all night?" Rachel could see the skepticism on his face but also the worry he held for his own daughter. Rachel didn't think herself a bad influence on Anna but it was obvious that there were a few experiences she'd had that Noah would prefer Anna remain somewhat oblivious to.

"Blaine and I were different as children. We were both very focused on our love of the stage and there was hardly any room for much else. As friends, that didn't change. I also think that my fathers always just knew that Blaine was gay, even before he came out. They knew our interests would never stray to each other, in that way." Noah hadn't thought of that. Suddenly, he was a little jealous of Rachel's fathers. The paternal instincts they'd obviously possessed hadn't steered Rachel in a wrong direction. Rachel was quite clearly an amazing woman and no doubt the men had had a hand in that. Even after almost thirteen years of being a father, he still felt lost sometimes. He could only hope that with his help, Anna would grow up to be just as well-adjusted as Rachel seemed. As long as his baby girl could live her dreams, whatever they might be, it was all worth it. "Besides, Blaine never stayed in my room with me. He always slept downstairs. Sleepovers were a big deal with us."

Blaine chuckled. "Yeah, Rachel was always like my very bossy, loud sister." With a soft look towards Kurt, he added, "Girls are gross anyway." Both Rachel and Anna made identical scoffing noises that made Noah laugh.

After their food was served, Anna looked over at Rachel, a thoughtful expression on her face. "What else do you do at sleepovers?" Rachel cocked her head to the side as she chewed the bite of food in her mouth. She glanced at Noah and noticed his expression, almost like he'd anticipated his daughter's question. Rather than answer her outright, Rachel asked what she was almost positive everyone else was thinking.

"Anna, you've never been to a sleepover?" Anna just shrugged her shoulders.

"No. Most girls my age are all prissy so I don't really like hanging out with them any more than I have to. My friend Callie is pretty cool but her mom is always weird so she's not allowed to have friends sleep over. What's the big deal?" Before Rachel could react, despite the clenching in her chest at the girl's words, Noah reached over and placed his hand on Anna's shoulder.

"Baby girl, did you want to have sleepovers with your friends? You've never said anything about them before." Rachel breathed in the tone of his voice as he spoke to Anna. It seemed like every time she was around the Puckerman duo, it was increasingly apparent that the girl was his world. Nothing was too big or too small if it could bring her happiness. He was so incredible. Anna looked up at her dad and smiled.

"I never really cared that much to be honest. Besides, I wouldn't know what to do at a sleepover anyway. But yeah, I think that if I knew more about them, they'd be cool. I never said anything because I didn't really know how to bring it up." Noah nodded his head, silently reminding himself that he wasn't the only one in unknown territory.

"Anna," Rachel smiled, "would you like to have a sleepover? Just me and you, a girls' night." Noah looked at her, an indiscernible smile on his face and she added, "If it's okay with your dad, of course." Anna suddenly burst into a blinding smile that only the most heartless and cruel person could even consider saying no to.

"Can I daddy? That sounds awesome." With a chuckle on his lips, he leaned over and planted a kiss to the crown of Anna's head.

"Sure you can. We'll all talk about it later. But right now, it's Rachel's night so I think we should all get back to celebrating. Deal?" Anna smiled, directing it at both her dad and Rachel, and gave a nod of her head.

"Deal."

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><p>Anna chewed her pizza silently as <em>Sweeney Todd<em> played on Rachel's television set. She was trying very hard not to glare at Rachel. She freaking loved Rachel but right then, she just wanted to tell her to shut up.

"I don't wanna talk about him," she said tightly. Rachel just arched her pretty brow and smiled this knowing smile. Anna stared down at her pajama pants, flicked an imaginary piece of lint into the floor, and huffed. Sullenly, she started, "This is supposed to be a girls' night. Why are you dragging Joey into it?" Again, Rachel offered a smile.

"I'm not the one who said Joey Green looks like Jamie Campbell Bower. _You_ brought him up Anna." Anna didn't like that the woman was right. The comment had just slipped out. Joey really _did_ look like the dude that played Anthony.

It wasn't her fault that her brain kept making her see Joey's face instead of the actor's.

"Okay Anna, time to induct you into the official unofficial girls' night sleepover club. The only requirements are to gossip and spill secrets. So come on, girl talk, spill." Rachel turned the movie down low and turned on the couch to face Anna. "What's the deal with you and this boy? Why do you pretend to hate him when you obviously feel quite the opposite?" Anna rolled her eyes even as she realized that, once again, Rachel was right. But she trusted Rachel. And she wanted to tell _somebody_. No one else would be a better choice.

Taking a deep breath, Anna pulled her legs up on the couch and mirrored Rachel. "Okay fine, it all started when he kissed me on the cheek. Before that, he was just a boy that got on my nerves, all the freaking time. But then, it was like, he stopped being annoying. I felt just like all those other stupid girls that think 'he's so dreamy'." Rachel grinned at Anna's use of air quotes. "And dad got all mad about him kissing me which is sort of my fault since I kinda acted like I didn't like it which wasn't a lie at the time because I just didn't know how to handle it. So now, I just keep thinking about him all the freaking time and the only time he talks to me is at school or at the JCC when he knows dad isn't anywhere around. I don't know what he said to Joey but it seems like anytime dad is near me, Joey disappears." Rachel nodded her head, allowing her mind to think of Noah in angry father mode, terrifying the young boy in submission. Obviously, if Joey was still speaking to Anna whenever he got the chance, Noah hadn't scared him as much as he'd intended to. Or Joey simply liked Anna enough to risk it. Anna _was_ a very likeable girl.

"I imagine your father can be quite intimidating when he wants to be." Rachel couldn't stop the sudden onslaught of images that assaulted her mind. The man could control anything with a glance. Rachel wondered, if given the chance, what glances he might employ to coax her body into submission. It wouldn't take much.

Rachel shook her head free of the inappropriate thoughts. The man's _daughter_ was sitting across from her for god's sake!

Anna pretended not to notice the way Rachel looked when she talked about her dad. The girl filed that information away to use later in the evening.

"He is. The day after dad talked to him, he turned white as a ghost when he saw me. It took him three days to even say hi to me again. I really wanna invite him to my bat mitzvah but I'm scared either dad'll make a big deal about it or Joey'll say no because he's still scared of dad. I don't know what the crap to do." Rachel's eyes widened a little bit.

"Your bat mitzvah? Why haven't you said anything before now Anna?" Anna shrugged her shoulders.

"We haven't sent out the invitations yet. Dad's still planning it all but I'm starting to get a little worried. Just between us, he's not all that great at planning big events. Kurt usually helps him out with birthdays and stuff but dad got all excited when I started studying for my bat mitzvah, saying he wanted to throw a big party and everything. I can tell it's stressing him out but every time I ask him about it, he just says he's got it covered. I love my dad, so much, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried that it'll all turn into a disaster." Rachel could sympathize with Anna easily. A bat mitzvah was a big deal, _huge_, and had to go perfectly. Rachel, due to her own control issues, had had a large hand in planning much of her own bat mitzvah. It just wasn't something she'd been able to entrust to the incompetent party planner her fathers had hired.

"Has he at least asked your opinion on things? Food and music, things like that?" Anna nodded and stopped a smile from forming on her face. Suddenly, an opening for her plan had formed and, even though it was unexpected, she was going to take it.

"Yeah, he's good at knowing things like that. I mean, he's known those things all my life so I'm not really worried about any of that. I just wish he had some help so all the pressure of planning it all wasn't resting on his shoulders. But he'd never admit that he needs help with it, and even if he did admit it, there's no way he'd actually ask someone for help." Anna watched Rachel's face carefully, seeing the cogs turn in her mind, and waited for the right moment to plant the newest seed of her plan. When the light came on in Rachel's head, Anna almost laughed over its simplicity.

"If someone, say me for example," Rachel began, "were to offer help, would he take it then?" Anna let a slow smile spread across her face. Good. Allow Rachel to get herself to the right conclusion, making her think she'd arrived at it on her own, and then get Rachel to do the exact same thing to her dad.

"Probably. It wouldn't hurt to try. I bet he'd let you help him if you offered." Anna then pretended she'd _just_ thought of an idea, straightening her body slightly to give a 'eureka' stance. "Hey, that could work. Rachel, if you offered to help dad with the bat mitzvah, he'd take it. You could do it in a way that makes him think it was his idea or something. Oh Rachel, would you please help him? I just don't want him to be stressed out anymore. I feel bad that he's all pressured because it's _my_ party he's planning." Rachel scooted closer to Anna on the couch and wrapped her arm around her shoulders.

"Sweetie, I'm sure your dad would hate it if he knew you were feeling guilty over this. He wants to give you an amazing party because he's proud of you and he adores you." Anna laughed softly.

"I _know_ that. But still, I don't want dad to worry over it all so much. Please Rach, get him to let you help him out. For me?" Rachel sighed. There was no way in hell she could say no to that face, or those eyes that matched her father's, always tinged with an air of mischief.

"Okay, I'll figure out a way to suggest that I help out so he doesn't feel like I'm encroaching on his territory. Sound good?" Anna laughed again. She couldn't have said it better herself. Hehe.

"That's _perfect_." Anna sat back and returned her attention to the television screen just in time to see Anthony singing of his love for Johanna. It reminded her of how they'd got off on the bat mitzvah tangent in the first place. "But wait, I still don't know what to do about Joey."

Rachel tapped her chin in thought for a few moments. "You said that no invitations had been sent out yet, right?" Anna gave a nod of her head. "Okay then, invite him personally. Before any invitations are sent, you go up to Joey and tell him face to face that you want him to come to your bat mitzvah. That way he knows you really want him to be there. When you send out invitations and he opens his, he'll be reminded of the fact that you took the time to invite him before anyone else. And don't worry about your dad. I'll do my best to keep him from going all Chuck Norris on the boy." Anna had to laugh when Rachel said the last part.

"Dad likes Chuck Norris jokes. Okay, sounds good to me. I think we have a plan." Rachel smiled at the pleased look on Anna's face and sat back against the couch.

"So, Joey looks like Jamie Campbell Bower huh," she teased.

Anna rolled her eyes. A little jab here and there over her crush on Joey would all be worth it when her ultimate plan worked out in the end.

It was totally worth it.

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><p>Rachel breathed a small sigh of relief as she brought herself back to a standing position. Yoga always helped her clear her head. She wondered if, once the workshop for the musical started, she'd have time to do all the stretches required to get her in working order. She walked into the kitchen to get another bottle of water, going through the list in her head of things she needed to do that day. Finally deciding that her chores could wait until a little later, Rachel sat down on the couch and flipped to a brainless reality show just for the sake of having the noise in the background. She shifted but just couldn't get comfortable. Something kept digging into her back.<p>

When she felt around under the cushions, she felt a hard object of some sort. When she pulled it out, she realized that it was a small iPod. Rachel guessed that it belonged to Anna since the girl had slept on the couch when she'd stayed over a few days ago.

Getting to her feet, Rachel headed to the door. Anna would certainly want her iPod returned to her. Plus, Rachel thought to herself, if she happened to see Noah while she was returning it, that would be okay too.

As she knocked on the Puckerman's apartment door, Rachel heard angry yelling coming from inside. When the door swung open, she was taken aback by the look of a very irate Noah Puckerman staring back at her. He was wearing faded jeans with holes all through them and a black muscle shirt. His arm was holding a cell phone to his ear and the stance only made his muscles ripple. She involuntarily licked her lips at the sight.

"Hold on a second," he growled into the receiver before placing his palm over it and looking at her again. "Hey Rach, come on in. Just give me a minute and I'll be with you." Rachel could only nod her head and enter the apartment. As he closed the door, he started speaking on the phone again. "No you listen to me, I put money down on your band to hold the date to perform at my daughter's bat mitzvah and now you're telling me you can't do it? That's bullshit and you know it." He paused, listening with flared nostrils to the man on the phone. "No, you told me that it wouldn't be a problem. Listen, you're the band my daughter wants and you told me that if I paid half now and half after the party, you could hold the date to perform with no problem." He stopped talking and Rachel could see his anger building. And damn it if the man didn't look even hotter angry. Finally, he released a frightening growl into the phone and said, "You're so full of shit! Fuck you!" Swiftly, he ended the call and flung his phone into the chair across from where Rachel sat on the couch. He looked so defeated when he sat down and Rachel was reminded of Anna's plea for her to help the man out.

"What's going on?" She asked softly so he wouldn't get angry at her inquiry. He sighed heavily and met her gaze.

"There's this band that Anna wants to play at her bat mitzvah. They play the old school punk and classic rock that she loves but they also know more mainstream stuff that the other kids would know. I talked to them when I first started planning this whole thing and the guy told me that they didn't have any gigs slated for that date. If I paid half up front, they could hold the date of the party and perform then I would pay them the rest afterwards. I call the little asshole to confirm that they'll be playing and he tells me that they double-booked! They're saying now that they won't be able to play unless I pay them more and I'm completely fucked now. There's no way that I'd be able to find another band on such short notice that Anna will still like. What the hell am I supposed to do?" Rachel suddenly realized how she could keep her promise to Anna.

"Okay, you've already paid them half, they agreed to play, and now they're backing out. Is that the gist of it?" Noah nodded his head cautiously, unsure of where Rachel was going with her recap.

"Yeah that's it. I don't know what I'm gonna do now." Rachel stood up and walked over to him, her hand out in front of her. "What are you doing?"

"Give me your phone." She put enough force into her voice that he didn't ask the question again, just handed over his phone. Rachel redialed the last number and waited as it rang. When the man finally answered, it was with a surly,

"What?" Rachel quickly affected her voice with a snooty air and cleared her throat.

"Hello, I'm calling on behalf of my client Mr. Noah Puckerman. It's come to my attention that some sort of conflict is taking place and as his attorney, I'd like for us to come to an agreement in which all parties involved can benefit. Now, as I understand it, my client has a verbal and monetary contract with your band to play at his daughter's bat mitzvah. Is that correct?" The man on the phone stuttered for a second but answered,

"Yeah, but—" Rachel cut him off.

"Good, then I'm sure you know that in the state of New York, a verbal contract is legally binding and by your attempt to re-neg on the requirements set forth in the agreement, your band is currently in breach of aforementioned contract and Mr. Puckerman would be well within his rights to raise a lawsuit against your band. I'm sure that won't be necessary but you understand the ramifications should you continue to not uphold your end of the bargain. Now if you want, I can have official papers drawn up today _or_ we could settle this over the phone. Are you and your band going to continue with this ridiculous frivolity or do you hereby agree, once again, to your responsibilities stated in the verbal contract?" Rachel took a deep breath and waited, hearing the confused stuttering again.

"Um, what?" Rachel rolled her eyes. This would be easy.

"Your band will play at Mr. Puckerman's daughter's bat mitzvah as previously agreed upon or we will _sue_ you. Does that make sense?" She was met with more stuttering and Rachel briefly wondered how this man could possibly play any instrument without a spine.

"Yes ma'am," he finally answered and Rachel grinned, giving Noah a thumbs-up.

"Fantastic! I knew you would see reason in this matter." She paused and hardened, making her voice as intimidating as possible. "Now I want you to listen to me very closely. If my client is forced to resort to using my services over this matter again, I won't hesitate to slap you with a lawsuit so fast, you'll have to pay Mr. Puckerman if you so much as _look_ at another instrument for the rest of your life. You're going to play for this girl's birthday, the entire agreed upon set, for the original asking price, without any further problems. Have I made myself clear? Good." Rachel smiled at Noah's look of surprise. She left no room for argument. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you young man. I hope you have a wonderful day." With that, Rachel closed the phone and handed it back to Noah. He took it, slack-jawed, and stared up at her.

"What the fuck was all that?" Rachel lifted her shoulder with a small smile on her face.

"My daddy's a lawyer and I'm an actress. I learned enough legalese when I was younger that I can bullshit almost anyone into thinking I actually know what I'm talking about." She moved to sit back down on the couch and remembered her original reason for coming up to the apartment. "Anna forgot her iPod at my place the other night. I found it this morning." She handed it over to him but he still just stared at her. "Are you okay Noah?" After a second, he blinked and cleared his throat.

"Yeah I just, what you just did, wow." Rachel couldn't help how much she liked the way his voice sounded on that last word.

"You seemed like you could use a little help. A bat mitzvah is a very important thing for a young Jewish girl. It's a big thing for you to take on by yourself." Noah made a noise but still nodded his head.

"I know. But you don't understand. This is my _daughter_. I just wanted to plan the bat mitzvah of her dreams but I didn't realize how much stuff had to be done. I've been okay so far. That little prick in the band trying to back out is the only real problem I've had but I just feel like that's only the tip of the iceberg. It's just a lot more than I expected." It was plain on his face that he hated admitting it to her. Rachel wasn't sure if he'd accept anymore help after what she'd already done with the band situation. She was worried about overstepping her bounds. Somewhere along the way, both Noah and Anna had become important to her. The last thing she wanted to do was anything that might jeopardize her relationship with either one of them.

"Casting won't be finished for at least another few weeks so I've got plenty of downtime before our workshop begins. What if I help you out with the planning? It would take some of the stress out of it for you." Noah appeared to be considering it, which honestly surprised her. She'd been expecting adamant refusal based on what Anna had told her.

Noah stood up and came to stand in front of her. Rachel forced her eyes to stay on his face instead of drifting down to the Promised Land now only inches away, at eye-level.

"That actually sounds like a pretty damn good idea. And it's not like I'd have to explain anything to you about what happens at these things. Sure, I'd really appreciate the help." Rachel smiled as she stood up, needing to smell something other than his intoxicating aftershave and look at something other than his lovely arms. She walked over to the door about to leave when his hand shot over her shoulder to prevent the door from opening. Rachel turned to find him smirking quite close to her.

"Did you, did you need anything else Noah?"

"How did you know that pulling of that lawyer mumbo jumbo out of your ass would make that kid in the band do what he was supposed to do?" Rachel took in another breath and it seemed like she could taste his scent on her tongue.

"Nobody wants to risk legal consequences over anything, especially when they know they're in the wrong. I merely assumed that he wouldn't know that the things I was telling him, like the legal contracts and stuff, were most likely false. We're lucky that he wasn't a part-time law student or something. Otherwise, he would've seen right through my argument and come back with a brutal counter-attack that could've unraveled everything." Rachel giggled softly at the way Noah smirked at her.

"Well, thanks. That was pretty fucking sweet, you know, watching you verbally castrate that dude." He paused and his eyes darkened just a little. "Actually, it was pretty badass." Rachel knew, by the way his voice lowered suddenly, that something was about to happen. But when his lips pressed almost teasingly against hers, she was pleasantly surprised.

The kiss was short, only a few seconds, before he pulled back. Rachel knew her face was flushed but she didn't really care. The look in Noah's eyes was impossible to read.

"Okay then," she breathed, "I'm just gonna go. Call me if you need any more fake lawyer mumbo jumbo."

As soon as Rachel was back in the hall, she leaned against the wall, unaware that Noah was doing the same thing against his door. Neither one of them could figure out why that had felt like something more than just an innocent kiss between friends.

Actually, it felt like a _lot_ more.


	8. Chapter 8

**a/n: Hey people! This chapter is a bit longer than the others so that should explain why it's taken so long to get out. Also, my family's been going through a plethora of things that prevented me from writing as much, not to mention the usual bitchiness of my muse. All in all, I'm happy with the chapter so I hope you all enjoy too. It's Anna Bat Mitzvah! Plus, I think Smuckleberry should make up for the wait. I don't own The Cure's "Lullaby", The Civil Wars' "Tip of My Tongue", or Bob Dylan's "Forever Young", but you should listen to all of them! I hope everyone likes the chapter. It's dedicated to My Butterfly because she helped me through the crises I had when preparing to write it and helped me look for songs. I don't know what I would do without her. Love you bb! I don't own Glee…**

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><p>Rachel couldn't help the smile that slipped onto her face as Anna's hand slid into her own. The girl's presence had become a constant in her life that Rachel readily welcomed. It probably helped just a little that Anna's constant presence basically guaranteed that of Noah but Rachel wasn't about to admit that to anyone anytime soon.<p>

It'd been a little over a week since he'd pressed her up against his apartment door and made her forget her first name. She'd tried to pass it off as a friendly gesture, something he'd done to show his gratitude for the help she'd offered with Anna's party. (What? People can be very generous when they're grateful. They can be.) But the second she realized that kiss had been much more than just friendly, it really shook her up. She'd planned to talk to him about it but it just seemed silly. What was she supposed to say? 'Hey you kissed me and I may or may not have felt something but I need to know why you did it so my own feelings over the situation can be more easily sorted through.' Yeah, _that_ would go over perfectly.

But she refused to let it alter her friendship with the man. They had to work together for the sake of Anna's bat mitzvah. Getting awkward over a kiss that most likely meant nothing at all would benefit no one.

"Did you hear me Rachel? Could you help me find a dress that doesn't make me want to puke? Bubbe's gonna be there and she'll throw a fit if I'm not wearing one." Rachel looked down at Anna and realized she'd been daydreaming while the girl was asking for help. Noah, who was walking beside his daughter with her hand tucked into his, saw Rachel's hesitation and misinterpreted it.

"Why don't you ask Uncle Kurt for help? I'm pretty sure Rachel doesn't realize just how much she's bitten off with agreeing to help with this thing anyway," he offered. "Wouldn't want to overwhelm her or anything." Before Rachel had the chance to respond, Anna groaned quite loudly.

"But I don't want to ask Uncle Kurt for help. I love him and all but whenever he tries to _help_ with clothes, I end up looking like a Hubba Bubba factory spat me out. I can't get it through his head that I don't like certain girly things but Rachel understands that just fine." Anna then turned her gaze on Rachel and asked in a sugary tone, "Rachel will you _please_ help me find a dress?" Rachel was forced to smile, it was impossible to do anything else when that girl stared into your eyes, as she nodded her head.

"I would love to help you find a bat mitzvah dress Anna. That's not an issue at all." Anna hopped a step and squeezed Rachel's hand a little tighter.

"Thank you so much! See dad, I told you she wouldn't mind." Noah just ducked his head a little, unwilling to start an argument in the middle of a sidewalk with a girl who thought she knew everything. As he spotted the Temple up the block, he remembered the deal he'd made with Anna. Since the whole asshole punk ordeal (otherwise known as the Joey Green Fiasco) Anna had made him promise not to embarrass her. She'd apparently developed a crush on the kid. So instead of walking her all the way to the Temple or JCC doors, he was to walk her within sight of the building and let her go alone the rest of the way. It hadn't been a deal he'd taken willingly but sometimes it felt like Anna backed him against a wall to get what she wanted. Sometimes, she reminded him so much of his mother, it was terrifying. She'd even had the nerve to guilt him into it because she was getting older and shit like that. Her explanation had seemed pretty damn coached to be honest. But in the end, Anna had gotten what she wanted because…well, try arguing with a twelve year old girl who knows she's right and doesn't take 'no' or 'because I said so' as conversation enders, then you might get it.

"Alright baby girl, I guess this is where Rachel and I stop. Call me when you get out and we'll go home." Noah bent down to hug her, whispering his 'I love you' in her ear before he kissed her forehead, and then watched as she hugged Rachel in the same way. As he watched her walk down the sidewalk and join a friend of hers from Temple, he blew out a shaky breath. A sideways glance at Rachel told him that she was staring after Anna as well. "You wanna know something?" Rachel tilted her head towards him to indicate she was listening and he swallowed the lump in his throat caused by his retreating daughter. "I'm fucking terrified of the day she stops letting me call her 'baby girl'." Rachel gave a soft gasp in response and turned her whole body towards him. He found the way she touched his arm to be oddly comforting. Her presence was comforting.

"Do _you_ want to know something," she countered. Noah just chuckled softly as she continued. "I don't think that day will come. Trust me, this is coming from another daddy's girl, you don't grow out of those little names. I always loved _The Wizard of Oz_ when I was younger and my fathers always called me 'munchkin'. They still call me that and I still love it. Little things, like pet names from your dad, those never outwear their welcome. Even if one day she pretends she doesn't want you to call her that anymore, she'll be secretly hoping that you will anyway. No matter what age, Anna will always love to be reminded that she's your baby girl." Noah knew that she was speaking from experience and he couldn't stop himself from hoping she would be right with Anna. But he also couldn't help his overwhelming urge to kiss Rachel like crazy right there on the sidewalk. She had this way about her that basically forced him to let his guard down. He just wanted to let her see him, and that had never happened before.

"Thanks Rachel, I guess I needed to hear that." Staring down at her as she stood so close, he was reminded of the kiss they'd shared the day she'd come to his rescue with the band. He'd been expecting her to want to talk about it because she'd always struck him as the kind of woman to talk things out. But when she'd made no move to work it into a conversation, he let it go. She didn't want to talk about the kiss. Okay. He resigned to giving her an even better one, one that would demand a discussion, preferably without clothing. "So what do you say we go get some lunch and iron out the rest of these party details?" Her gaze lingered a little longer on his face before she smiled.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea. Did you have a place in mind?" He nodded across the street to a little hole-in-the-wall deli owned by an old woman who'd always reminded him of his Nana Connie. Anytime he and Anna went to Temple, they always ate there afterwards.

"Yeah, let's go."

It was right around lunchtime so the place had a bit of a crowd but in no time, Rachel and Noah sat down with their food at a table looking out onto the street. Rachel watched Noah bite into the monster sandwich he'd ordered and easily imagined him sitting in the same place with the same sandwich playfully arguing with his daughter over something. It was a heartwarming image.

"Do I have mustard on my face?" Rachel shook herself out of her thoughts and realized that she'd been staring at Noah. She really had to stop daydreaming around the Puckerman family. The man was wiping the back of his hand across his face in search of the phantom condiment.

"No you're fine. Sorry, my thoughts are just wondering right now and I tend to zone out when that happens." Noah placed his empty hand against his chest and feigned a hurt expression.

"You think I'm _boring_? Well that's not very nice. I thought we were friends." Rachel could only smile and jokingly rolled her eyes.

"Oh whatever Noah. You're far from boring. So why don't we get this show on the road? What do we have left to do? You called the bakery to confirm the cake will be delivered on time, right?" He grinned and nodded his head.

"Yep, they'll wheel it in somewhere in the middle of the party. My mom is gonna freak out when she sees it." Noah chuckled as he thought of the cake Anna had designed.

It would be in the shape of an electric guitar. The body was supposed to be purple at the bottom which would fade into blue towards the neck. Her name in Hebrew would be written along the fret board. The guitar would connect to another cake in the shape of an amp which would have 'Happy Bat Mitzvah Anna' written on the front. The dials on both the guitar and the amp would be tipped with tiny Stars of David.

But the real reason that Noah's mother would go crazy when she saw it was because it was a feminine version of the cake she'd had made for him for _his_ bar mitzvah. When Anna wanted references to use when she'd been thinking of what she wanted for her cake, Noah had shown her the pictures and she'd loved it. After making a few adjustments on the original design to better suit her own personality, Anna had the cake she wanted. She'd said it would pay homage to the original one designed by her Bubbe.

Rachel smiled at the wistful look on the man's face. "I'm sure your mom will love it." He nodded his head and began to wipe his hands with his napkin. Rachel got distracted by the motion and began to wonder about those calloused fingers that had burned her skin when his lips had been pressed to hers. Calluses. Hey. "So, Anna keeps telling me I need to hear you play guitar. Are you any good?" The man chuckled with a raised eyebrow and licked his lips.

"I've played guitar for as long as I can remember. Before Anna was born, I had this pipe dream that I'd be a big rock star. Once Anna came though, my whole world shifted. But I never stopped playing. It used to be that the only way she'd go to sleep at night was if I sang to her. I still do it whenever she's sick. To answer your question, yeah I'd say I'm pretty damn good." Rachel did her best to swallow the lump in her throat.

"What do you think about playing something for Anna at the party? What song did you play for her when she was little?" Noah's answer was immediate.

"Bob Dylan's 'Forever Young', that's what I would always play when she was little. Sometimes, she'd want to hear something else at first but it always came back to that one." Rachel had to take a breath. Why was it that whenever this man opened his mouth about his daughter, he just seemed better and better? It just wasn't fair.

She had to admit that her reasons weren't completely selfless. After how many times Anna had gone on and on about her father's guitar playing, nobody could blame a girl for getting curious. Besides, if she could get him to play something for Anna's party, it would be a win-win. Anna would get her father playing a song that was something special they'd shared throughout her life while Rachel would finally get to see what all of the fuss was about. She absolutely adored Anna but the girl clearly thought the world of her dad so it would be a wonderful gift for her on her special day.

"So why don't you perform that as a surprise for her! I know Anna would adore it."

Noah eyed Rachel for a second as he thought over what she'd said. Apparently, Anna was constantly talking him up around Rachel which was funny because she was always talking Rachel up around him. He'd considered once or twice asking Anna what her angle was but since he knew he'd never get a straight answer out of her, he'd left it alone. But listening to Anna brag about Rachel's singing voice made him curious. If there was one thing Anna knew, it was music, good music. If she'd given Rachel her stamp of approval, Rachel was _good_. And yeah, curiosity had already demanded that he watch every video of the woman that YouTube had to offer but there was something to be said about hearing someone live, in the flesh. He wanted to hear Rachel, and if he had to use his daughter to make it happen…well, Anna probably wouldn't mind all that much.

"Alright," he grinned, "I'll do it." Noah let her little satisfied smile spread across her face and then said, "But on one condition. You have to sing something with me." Rachel stared for a moment. She hadn't been prepared for that request in the slightest.

"What do you mean? Why would you want me to sing at your daughter's bat mitzvah?"

"Well for one thing, Anna worships you. If I got you to do this, I'd be dad of the century. And it's not like you've never been on a stage before so you'd have no problem with that. Your workshop doesn't start for another couple of weeks so I know it won't interfere with that. Plus, you've gotta be bored out of your fucking mind now that you're only coaching like one person a week. I happen to be an _excellent_ cure for boredom." Noah purposely dropped his voice a little on the last part, let his eyebrow rise in a suggestive manner. He could see the way her eyes darkened, the way she licked her lips even though she'd barely touched her food.

"Okay, I'll do it for Anna." Rachel couldn't help that the sentence in her mind continued with 'and if we happen to have a repeat of that kiss, so be it'. "What would you have us perform?"

Noah cleared his throat to buy himself time. He figured she'd give in, just not that easy. "Well there's this group called The Civil Wars that Anna's been listening to a lot here lately. It's a man and woman so all of their songs are ready-made duets. I bet she'd like it if we did one of their songs." Rachel gave him a slight nod of her head and watched him over the rim of her glass.

"You came up with that pretty quick. Were you by any chance planning this?" To that, Noah chuckled deeply and finished off his sandwich.

"Not at all. I'm just good at thinking on my feet. Raising a kid at seventeen will do that to you." Rachel's face instantly softened at his comment and her instincts made her hand shoot across the table to land on his. He made no move to brush her off but the look his eyes said he hadn't intended for his comment to turn the conversation in the particular direction.

"Noah, if you ever need to talk about anything, anything at all, I'm here for you." He flipped his hand over under hers so that he could brush his thumb over her knuckles. With a soft smile, he bobbed his head up and down.

"Thanks Rachel. I'll cash in on that one day." Rachel suddenly felt the need to take the conversation back to its original topic, Anna's bat mitzvah. She made a halfhearted attempt to pull her hand back to her side of the table but Noah just barely tightened his grip so she left it there. She could speak just as easily with her hand in his as she could without it…maybe.

"So then I will listen to The Civil Wars' catalogue tonight and call you with a list of songs I think we could do. Is that okay with you?"

"Sounds good. Better yet, once you pick a few you like, just come upstairs and we'll practice to see which ones work best." Rachel grinned. She really liked that idea.

"Wonderful. Now, about the caterer, should I call to confirm the menu or would like to do that?"

By the time they were leaving the deli to pick Anna up, a few hours had passed and they had most of the party details ironed out perfectly.

As they stood on the sidewalk just about to cross the street, Noah slipped his arm around Rachel's waist and tugged her close. It was a habit. When she got a nervous tone in her voice as she joked, "with your arm around me like that, people might think we're on a date," he just laughed.

"Yeah, I guess they might."

He didn't move his arm.

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><p>"So I hear you're responsible for getting my granddaughter into that dress."<p>

Rachel swallowed the nervous lump that had formed in her throat. Mrs. Puckerman's comment was quite vague, not exactly an insult but not a compliment either. Rachel looked over to where Anna was dancing with her friends.

The dress she'd helped her pick out was adorable. It met all of Noah's length and skin covering stipulations while not making Anna look like a thirteen year old Quaker. It was a blue and green party dress with a tulle skirt that Anna had at first thrown in the 'not in a million years' pile. With a little coaxing, she'd agreed to try it on and ended up loving it. She didn't look overdone or completely different, just Anna in a pretty dress.

Rachel wasn't sure where Mrs. Puckerman was going to go with her line of inquiry but she felt it was best to establish her ground early on and hold it. "Yes that me. When Anna asked me to help her shot for a dress, I was surprised. But I believe we found one well-suited to her personality. It's a wonderful dress, plus Anna is happy with it. That's what really counts. I'm Rachel, by the way. Noah and Anna live in the apartment above mine. We've all become close friends since they moved in." Mrs. Puckerman's smile was measuring for a moment before she offered her hand out towards Rachel.

"I'm Miriam. Anna has told me all about you. You're right about the dress, it is wonderful." Something in the way she said it told Rachel that she wasn't just approving of the dress, Miriam was approving of _her_. Rachel couldn't, for the life of her, figure out why that felt so nice.

After that, they started talking about how Anna had done during the ceremony, the party in general, the band, things like that. It wasn't long before Rebecca, Noah's sister, joined them. Conversation flowed a bit more easily to other topics after that.

Rachel was having a wonderful time talking with the two Puckerman women when she noticed the song that the band was playing had changed to a slower one, The Cure's "Lullaby", (apparently Anna had loved the oddness of it growing up) and she instantly searched for Anna in the crowd. When her eyes finally landed on the birthday girl, she had to smile.

There was Anna, in the middle of the dance floor, with her hands up on the shoulders of none other than Joey Green. Joey's hands were safely on her waist. There was at least a foot and a half of space between them but both adolescents looked like the happiest people on the planet.

Movement from the corner of the room caught her attention. When she looked to see what it was, she saw Noah stalking towards the floor, more specifically, towards Joey and Anna. Rachel remembered her promise to Anna to keep Noah from causing Joey physical harm. From the look on the man's face, that was all he had in mind.

Rachel quickly and politely extricated herself from the conversation with Miriam and Rebecca. She started walking towards Noah as fast as she could without drawing attention to herself and the second she was close enough to grab him, she did.

"Dance with me Noah," she said as she pulled him closer. Surprise took away some of the anger in his gaze but he started to pull away.

"In a minute Rach, I was," Rachel tightened her grip on his hand until he looked at her again.

"I know _exactly_ what you were about to do. That's why I'm standing here, stopping you from it. Anna would never forgive you if you tried to scare Joey right now and you know it." Noah rolled his eyes but at least he didn't try to pull away again.

"I was just gonna rough him up a little bit. I wouldn't have _actually_ hurt him." Rachel shook her head. A fully grown man with more muscle in one bicep than the pre-pubescent thirteen year old he was about to challenge would _certainly_ be a fair fight.

"Dance with me," she repeated. When he made no move to do so, Rachel slipped her arms around his neck. "Joey has been a perfect gentleman Noah. Without making a spectacle of yourself, you could dance with me at a safe distance and make sure his hands stay where they're supposed to."

Reluctantly, Noah saw reason and drew Rachel into an embrace more suited for dancing, his large hand on the small of her back to keep her body close to his. After a few spins, his anger had passed and he looked down at Rachel with a smile on his face and in his eyes.

"This is nice," he whispered. Rachel hummed in agreement. "Thanks for not letting me make an ass of myself." She had to laugh at that.

"No problem," she giggled against his chest. She couldn't really remember placing her head there but for such a hard surface, it was quite comfortable.

"I saw you talking to my mom and Bex. Hope they didn't give you any trouble. They've been known to be a little critical." Rachel rose up with a smile on her face.

"They were just fine. Your mother had asked me about Anna's dress." Noah took that moment to look across the dance floor at his daughter and he had to smile.

"She looks beautiful." Rachel followed his gaze just as Anna looked over at them, a large grin suddenly covering the girl's face. "You've been amazing with her Rachel. Seriously, I don't know what it is but ever since we met you, it's like she knows herself better. It's not like she was this little angsty emo kid searching for her identity or anything _before_ she stumbled into your apartment but now, I don't know. I've seen a change in my daughter, and I know it's because of you. Thank you Rachel."

Rachel took a deep breath to keep the tears at bay. Hearing Noah say those things made her realize something. She loved that girl. His speech shot directly at her heart because she loved Anna and would do anything for her.

"Well she was amazing before I met her Noah, and that has everything to do with you." Noah smiled at her when she said that. He pressed her a little closer and fought the urge to kiss her. Kissing her in the middle of his daughter's bat mitzvah didn't seem like the smartest thing to do though, no matter how great he knew it would feel.

But, just because he couldn't kiss her like he wanted to, that didn't mean he couldn't do other things.

"You look really hot in that dress," he whispered in her ear. Rachel smiled up at him and batted her lashes just to mess with him a little. She'd bought the little black dress while helping Anna shop for her own. What really made it pop was the pair of cobalt pumps she'd worn with it.

"Thank you. Seeing you in a suit feels like a glimpse into your work attire." She fiddled with the buttons on his dress shirt as he made a face.

"The difference is I have to wear a tie at work." Rachel nodded at the comment and moved her hand to the skin exposed by his open collar. There was a little bit of hair there but before she could run her fingers through it, he took her hand in his again. His eyes darkened as the song came to an end and Rachel moved even closer. Their heads tilted to accommodate for the slight difference in their height.

She felt the frustrated breath he released against her lips as their names were called from the stage. Talk about bad timing.

"The father of the birthday girl has prepared a special performance so if Mr. Puckerman and Ms. Berry would make their way to the stage, you can all see it." Rachel briefly thought that the singer's voice sounded normal when he wasn't stuttering in fear of getting sued. Noah didn't let go of her hand until they were up on the stage and he had to put his guitar on.

"Hey everyone, I'm Anna's dad. And this lovely lady beside me is Ms. Rachel Berry. The song we're gonna do isn't exactly a surprise for Anna since we actually practiced it at home but it's still at least a little bit of a surprise for the rest of you." As he adjusted his strap, Rachel stepped up to her microphone.

"When Noah suggested this song for us to perform, he told me it was one of Anna's favorites. Well I just couldn't pass it up once I heard it so I hope you all enjoy it. Anna sweetie, happy birthday." Anna had moved closer to the stage so Rachel smiled down at her.

Noah began the short lilting intro before Rachel started to sing her part softly along with the pluck of the strings.

_You're a red string tied to my finger._

_A little love letter I carry with me._

_You're sunlight, smoke rings, and cigarettes,_

_Outlines and kisses from silver screens._

Noah looked over at Rachel with a smirk on his face as the chorus began. When his eyes locked with hers, she almost missed her cue.

_Oh, dear, never saw you coming._

_Oh, my, look what you have done._

_You're my favorite song,_

_Always on the tip of my tongue._

Noah couldn't help feeling that the song had suddenly taken on a double meaning. When he'd first suggested 'Tip of My Tongue', it was about Anna. Ever since her birth, Anna was always on the forefront of his mind. She was the center of his world. But lately, since Rachel had entered both of their lives, his thoughts had been filled with her a lot too. Anna was still his world but suddenly, that world seemed to be making room for more. The second verse really seemed to speak to that.

_You own me with whispers like poetry._

_Your mouth is a melody I memorize._

_So sweet, I hear it echo_

_Everywhere I go day and night._

Rachel swayed along to the music coming from Noah's guitar as they sang the chorus again together. Singing with him was one of the easiest things she'd ever done. Their voices just melted together in a way she'd never expected them to. The man's profession may be at a publishing company but he was a musician at heart. His soul was a song.

The song's end came too soon for both of them. Rachel had to step over and hug Noah before she left the stage. Something about the connection she'd felt between them, she wasn't ready to give that up completely.

He watched Rachel step down from the stage and grinned. Her ass looked way too good in that dress. She gave Anna a hug which made him smile a little bigger. Noah knew he was headed into dangerous territory, but he couldn't be bothered to care.

After hugging Rachel, Anna waited for her dad to come down from the stage. She wanted to tell him that seeing both him and Rachel singing together was the single best birthday present she could've ever hoped for. She wanted to hug the bejeezus out of him for being the coolest dad on the planet.

When she'd heard them practicing the song in the living room, they'd made it no real secret that it was for her bat mitzvah. They did make a point to rehearse a few of The Civil Wars' songs just to make sure she wouldn't know exactly what song they'd chosen. Hearing the end result was so incredible. As Anna had watched her father on stage with Rachel, her resolve to bring the two adults together strengthened. They were so well matched.

But he never left the stage. Anna stared up at him curiously. Rachel had already come down but for some reason, her dad was still standing up there with his guitar smiling down at her. What was going on?

Noah stepped up to his mic again. The grin on his face was the same one he always had when he was about to surprise her. That grin was usually a prerequisite for all things awesome.

"Baby girl, you're growing up so fast. Getting to be a part of that still blows my mind. Happy birthday Anna. I love you."

Usually, Anna despised crying. It was messy, made you look funny, and generally not a great feeling. But the second the opening chords of "Forever Young" started drifting out of her father's guitar, tears began trickling down her cheeks. It was one of her favorite songs for one main reason. The first song she could remember him playing for her was that one. No matter what was going on in life, listening to her dad playing it could fix everything. That song awakened memories of a little girl frightened by the monsters of nightmares only to be soothed back to a peaceful slumber by a superhero wielding a guitar. He would play when she was sick, when she was sad, even happy. So many memories and moments of her childhood were wrapped up in that song and now her bat mitzvah could be added to that list. It was her song. Their song.

Even through her watery eyes, Anna smiled at Noah with all the joy and love she was feeling. A daughter's love.

He got a little choked up during the last part of the song and had to power through it. Anna waited until he finished and had put his guitar back on its stand before running up to him on the stage. She flung her arms around his neck as he lifted her from the ground. He gave the best hugs.

"I love you daddy," she whispered against his shoulder as she wiped her cheeks on his suit jacket. "Thank you." When her feet touched the ground again, Anna reached up and grabbed the microphone. "My dad beats everything, doesn't he?" The guests cheered as Anna giggled softly. "I wanna thank everybody for coming today. You guys are great. Party's not over yet so eat some more food and have fun. I love you all." Noah took Anna's hand and helped her step down from the stage. She was very grateful for it too. The heels Rachel had convinced her to get weren't that high but, for a girl used to wearing Converse and ballet flats all the time, she still wasn't very skilled in walking in them. Anna hoped to one day wear heels like Rachel's but that would take a while.

"Daddy, will you dance with me?" Noah almost got choked up again at her question. In that instant, he saw a tiny girl in lopsided pigtails standing in his mother's living room next to the radio playing a Frank Sinatra song and asking the same question. So he gave the same answer he'd given then.

"Only if you'll dance with me first." Anna laughed softly and stepped into the safest place on the planet, her father's arms.

Rachel watched the father-daughter duo on the dance floor and the smile wouldn't leave her face.

"You're staring at my brother, you know." Rachel gasped as Rebecca Puckerman sat down beside her at the table, a mischievous look in her eyes that must have been a family trait.

"I was not staring," she began to protest. Rebecca rolled her eyes.

"Save it Rachel," she chuckled, "I've been watching chicks drool over my brother since before I can remember." For a moment, she paused and locked her eyes on Rachel's. "He's been through a lot. Noah is the best man I know, and that's not just a little sister talking up her brother. He quit school when Anna was born so he could raise her. Got his G.E.D. and went to college. When he graduated and got the offers from the publishing companies, he actually asked Anna's other grandparents for their blessing to bring her out here to New York and start a life. It wasn't like he had to do that or anything but he did. That's the kind of guy he is. He's raised that amazing niece of mine on his own because he knew that everyone who told him he couldn't was full of shit."

Rachel cleared her throat and let her gaze drift back to Noah and Anna laughing together as they swayed back and forth. "Um Rebecca, why are you telling me all of this?"

"Because you need to know how great he is, in case you don't see it already." Rachel nodded her head even though she felt Rebecca's explanation didn't really explain a whole lot. "Look, Ma is giving Anna a slumber party with a couple of her friends in our hotel room as part of a birthday present. I think you and Noah could keep each other company." Rachel didn't have a chance to react before Rebecca grabbed her handbag and walked away, glancing back only once to shoot Rachel a wink that left no doubt as to the suggestive nature of her words.

Well what was she supposed to do with that?

"I think I'm gonna need a drink after being around all these kids." Rachel shivered as his voice skated across her shoulder. Why did he have to have such a strong effect over her senses? "You okay? Did Bex say something?" Noah pulled a chair out and sat down beside her. The way he leaned over, she could smell his aftershave.

"Um, not really," Rachel replied, "mostly things about you. I get what you mean about needing a drink though. Guess you can't wait to get home then huh?" He smiled and moved his finger down her arm. It was useless to try and ignore the tingling she felt at his touch.

"Yeah pretty much. My mom and Bex are giving Anna and two of her friends a sleepover in their hotel room so Anna won't be home tonight. You've dealt with all of these kids as much as I have today so my guess is you could use a drink too." Rachel bit her lip and remembered their almost kiss out on the dance floor. She also remembered their actual kiss. Any amount of time they spent alone would inevitably end in more of that. The very thought of kissing Noah set her mind on fire.

"Are you inviting me back to your place?" He grinned again as he slid his hand down her arm, stopping at her wrist to rub his thumb over the soft skin there.

"That's exactly what I'm doing." Noah was tired of waiting. Kissing Rachel once made him want a repeat. Almost kissing her again made him _need_ that repeat. And if he had to get her alone for that to happen, and then let whatever else happen, he'd do it in a heartbeat. "So what do you say?"

Rachel hesitated, not because she was unsure of her answer but because his presence seemed to replace everything in her body with need. "I have to help clean up after the party so I won't be able to get there immediately. Do you mind waiting for me at your apartment?" That brought a grin to the man's face that caused Rachel to bite her lip.

"Since we're going to the same place, there's no sense in taking two cabs. Besides, I'm helping with cleanup too. We'll head out together." Again, Rachel bit her lip. His voice was an almost tender growl. She wondered what it would sound and feel like if he said her name with that voice.

"That sounds perfect."

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><p>He watched her flit around the room, delegating what centerpiece went in which box to be packed up, pushing chairs back up under tables, and saying her own good-byes as the last of the party guests trickled out. Looking at everything they'd had to put together for this thing, Noah realized how dumb he'd been to even consider planning it on his own. Without Rachel, the band probably wouldn't have been there, the caterer would have overcharged him, the decorations wouldn't have been all that great, and he would've completely fucked up his daughter's bat mitzvah.<p>

Well, maybe not _totally_ fucked it up, he was competent enough to have pulled it together, but it'd been _so_ much easier with Rachel. Anna had repeatedly told him during the night how much she loved it and all the other kids seemed to have had a great time. He probably _could've_ handled it without her, but he was really glad he hadn't.

Besides, seeing her walk around in that tight black dress and those bright blue shoes was probably one of his new favorite pastimes.

They were almost finished when he kept feeling eyes on his neck each time he turned around. Each time, the source of that feeling seemed to be Rachel. Noah glanced back at her only to see her quickly look down or in another direction. Well if she wanted a closer look, all she had to do was ask.

The band was already gone, all the guests had left, and Anna was already with her Bubbe and aunt. Besides the caterer's people still getting all of their stuff together, the two of them were alone in the large room. Why not have a little fun? "Hey Rach," Noah called over his shoulder, "my ass looks good in these pants right?" He turned in time to see her mouth drop open.

"Excuse me?" The way she stood, with her hand on one hip and her wavy hair falling over her shoulder, made him smirk a little more.

"Well you've been checking me out all night. I figured you'd be able to tell me." The closer he got, the more he could see her cheeks color a soft shade pink. For a second, she looked like she was about to deny it but then she sighed.

"Fine, you caught me. But you've been checking me out all night too." Rachel pointed her finger at him like she'd successfully defended her case but Noah just shrugged his shoulders.

"I wasn't trying to hide it though." He got close enough that the finger she still had pointed at him touched his chest. "Yeah, I've been checking you out. And just in case you were wondering, I was also coming on to you earlier when I asked you to come back to my place for a drink." Something instinctive inside Rachel clicked and she slid her hand up his chest, across his shoulder, and around the back of his neck. With a grin on his face, Noah asked, "Are you coming on to _me_ now?" Rachel swallowed, tilted her head to the side, and let her eyes drift down to his mouth.

"I might be," she whispered. As her fingers slid into the soft, almost curly, hair and the nape of his neck, he wrapped his hand around her hip. She closed the spaced between them with a half-step and pressed their bodies together. "Okay, _now_ I'm coming on to you." He gave her nothing but a knowing smile before slanting his lips over hers.

Rachel felt his kiss all the way down to her toes. They each seemed to forget everything around them. He was soft and demanding at the same time. Feeling his fingers digging into her hips along with the tip of his tongue teasing her bottom lip was all she thought she could take. But then he opened his mouth just a little more and sucked on her bottom lip. She couldn't help but respond in kind.

Man she could kiss. Noah couldn't ever remember feeling lightheaded from just a kiss before but Rachel made it happen. Each time she sucked on his lip, she would tug just a little on his hair. Whether she meant to do it or not didn't really matter. It turned him on even more. It didn't take long for him to need more of her beneath his fingers. As soon as Noah slid one hand down to her ass, she made this little noise that almost did him in. He slipped his other hand into her long hair, fisting it in his fingers, and held her against him. Her body was pliant and willing beneath his hands. Noah squeezed her through the fabric of her dress, wishing like hell the he could will the garment to disappear. For a beautiful dress that made her look even more incredible, it was starting to really piss him off.

"Damn it," he growled softly as he pulled away. Her eyes were just a little glassy when she looked up at him but the slight haze on the edges of his vision told him that his eyes probably looked the same. After a kiss like that, who wouldn't be a little dazed? "We need to catch that cab right now."

It took him approximately three minutes to locate and finish up business with the caterers. Getting Rachel in a fast cab to nudity in his bed was top priority. When he grabbed her hand to pull her out of the building, he had to grin when she put her fingers up to her mouth and let out a shrill whistle. When the bright yellow taxi pulled up to the curb in front of them two seconds later, he almost kissed her again for making it happen.

Luckily, the apartment building wasn't too far away. Rachel couldn't make herself let go of his hand. When the cab stopped, Noah paid the driver and tugged Rachel back out onto the sidewalk. They'd barely let the elevator doors close before he pushed her against the wall. His hand hit the button for his floor at the same time his mouth crashed down onto hers.

Rachel made a little gasping noise and he realized he'd been bunching the bottom of her dress up so much that her bare thigh kept touching the cold wall. He reluctantly put her dress back down but only because he knew it would be off soon. Noah moved his attentions to her neck and sucked at the heated skin.

"God," Rachel whispered, "that feels so good." Noah nipped at her earlobe and replied,

"Just wait until I get inside you Rach."

The ding of the elevator stopped the moan in her throat. Rachel shot a glance at the stairwell as Noah fished in his pockets for his keys. One step in that direction would end everything they'd begun hours ago during the party. Ending it seemed like both a smart and stupid idea. Noah's opening of the apartment door made her decision.

She felt like her body was on fire and looking at him only fanned the flames. Rachel stepped closer to him, propelled by the lust and adrenaline in her veins. He took her hand once again and guided her towards his bedroom.

Rachel couldn't help but take in her new surroundings. The deep blue comforter and striped sheets just screamed that a man lived there. The few pictures on the walls appeared to be framed drawings from when Anna was younger. A few articles of clothing, a stray sock or tie, lay forgotten on the floor. Altogether, the room was quite homey.

But she instantly forgot about the amenities of the room the second she felt him tug at the zipper of her dress.

"Leave the heels on babe," Noah's voice was brusque at her ear, sending tremors down her spine. He pressed a kiss to the curve of her neck and shoved the dress down to the floor.

She wasn't wearing a bra. He'd danced with her most of the night and she didn't have a bra on! Noah smoothed his hand down her back, her skin was so soft, and stopped just before the nice swell of her panty-clad ass.

When Rachel turned around, she met his gaze steadily. He'd already kicked his shoes off so when she started to unbutton his dress shirt, he went to work on his belt and slacks. She pushed his pants down quickly and sat down on the bed. Looking up at him, knowing what was about to happen, she felt just a little nervous, even a little self conscious. Instantly, she blinked away those feelings. Noah had made it quite clear that he wanted her, she wanted him. It was that simple. In the same commanding tone he'd used with her in his request to leave her shoes on, Rachel smirked and said,

"Ditch the boxers." She leaned back with her arms behind her. The position thrust her chest out just a little and her nipples puckered under his gaze. Noah snapped back to reality and let his boxer briefs join the pile of their clothes at his feet. Rachel crossed her legs in front of her, eyebrow arching at the sight of him. Damn.

He watched her shift on the bed and smiled. She looked so perfect. Grinning like a wolf, Noah leaned over and pressed his lips to hers again, doing his best to ignore the feeling of _home_ he got when their bodies touched, and skated his hand down over her breast and ribcage. As his fingers touched the lace of her panties, he used his body to lay her flat on the bed. He tossed her underwear over his shoulder and didn't even try to hide the smile on his face. She was glistening.

Rachel could feel him, hard and rigid, pressing hot against her inner thigh. He looked at her like a starved man and it only made the desire she felt grow stronger. Noah's fingers were magic. The way he flicked his thumb across her clit forced a moan from her lips. She pulled one leg up so she could wrap it around his waist. The action made him groan.

"Condom," he whispered, "_now_." From where they were on the bed, Noah easily leaned over to his nightstand and retrieved the small foil package. Rachel didn't stop herself from grabbing it out of his hands. With a hiss from Noah, she wrapped her hand around him and stroked once from base to tip. Relishing the heavy full feeling of him in her palm, Rachel smoothed the condom down his length. He stared at her a moment longer before Rachel couldn't take it anymore and tightened her leg. The blunt head brushed against her folds and they both moaned in response.

As he finally slipped inside her, Rachel felt her body being deliciously stretched to accommodate his size. Her hands grasped at his biceps for support when the air left her lungs in a whoosh that had her gasping in pleasure. His thrusts were deep and each time he penetrated her, she felt it to her core.

Suddenly, he stopped his movements so Rachel opened her eyes in confusion. Noah reached behind his back and she felt him grabbing at her shoe. The heel must have been digging into his back because he just grinned and offered,

"Maybe leaving the shoes on wasn't such a great idea." Rachel giggled a little (though every little movement either of them made just served as a reminder that he was balls deep inside her) and kicked both shoes off.

"Sorry," she mumbled. Noah just leaned it and kissed her, thrusting a little as he did so and swallowing her responding gasp.

"No worries, I can handle a few battle scars." Rachel barely heard him. Blood was roaring too loud between her ears. He started to rock into her with a little more force. Her lips slipped across his jaw as she made her way to his ear. Because he wasn't expecting it, she surprised him, jarred his rhythm a bit, when she used her tongue to lick at his earlobe. Her own beat skipped when he bit down on her shoulder. Seemed as though they would both have battle scars from the night.

Her body started to tense, like a rubber band ready to snap, and her moans became more incoherent. She vaguely registered his name spilling from her mouth but as for what else she may have said, she didn't have a clue. He felt so perfect inside her, in her arms. The muscles she'd tried to make an effort to keep relaxed were about to catch on fire and she knew that fire would take over her everything.

His hips slowed as he realized she was close. Noah wanted to draw her release out for as long as he could. A woman like her deserved it. Rachel deserved it. The way she bit her lip in frustration was the sexiest thing he'd ever seen. When he felt her hand leave his arm and watched it begin its descent down her stomach towards where their bodies were connected, he realized she wouldn't be denied what she craved. With a smirk, Noah gave a sharp thrust that made her hand halt its course. He could feel her muscles clenching around him. She was trying to kill him. That had to be it. Using his free hand, he thrummed at her swollen clit and watched as she began to fall apart. Her slender neck was exposed as she thrust her head back against the bed so he bent his head and licked a trail from the hollow of her throat to her lips. As her tongue tangled with his, he felt the last tremors of her climax subside. He cupped her cheek to keep her mouth on his as his last two thrusts brought on his own orgasm. Rachel's leg tightened around him once more before she let it fall against the mattress with a soft thud.

When Noah pulled out to throw the condom away, the empty feeling scared her just a little. It'd never felt like that before, like she was suddenly missing something crucial with him not there. When he came back, he quickly positioned them both under the covers. Rachel didn't question it, only curled into his side and let his arms cover her in the warmest embrace she'd ever been a part of.

Drifting off to sleep in his arms should've been strange but Rachel fell asleep before she could contemplate why it wasn't. It wasn't at all.

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><p>Anna dropped her overnight bag on the floor and tried to figure out why the apartment didn't smell like breakfast.<p>

Her dad always made breakfast on the weekends no matter what. When Bubbe and Bex's taxi had dropped her off outside, she'd been looking forward to sitting down to breakfast and telling Dad all about the awesome slumber party they'd had in the hotel room. Then, she'd planned on going down to Rachel's apartment and recounting the whole story again to her.

But the first part of that plan was breakfast and there wasn't any fixed.

After checking the kitchen, Anna dragged her bag down and tossed it in her room. Then she knocked on her dad's door. No answer. He was apparently still asleep. Understandable considering how much work he and Rachel had put into creating the best bat mitzvah ever.

"Dad I'm home and," but her words caught in her throat.

Of the two people in the bed, one she'd expected. The other was, of course, a total surprise.

Anna just stared at the two adults sleeping soundly. It was pretty obvious how they'd gotten that way but she was a little shocked over how mixed her feelings suddenly were. On one hand, her dad and Rachel sleeping together could be beneficial to her ending plan of getting them together in the first place. But on the other hand, Rachel could have just entered the ranks of one-night stands or worse, one of his 'friends' like Brittany had been.

Anna went to public school; her mind wasn't as innocent as father would like it to be.

The last option wasn't appealing but she had a feeling she could work with this news. She would just have to wait for the adults to wake up and see how they handled the situation. Then alter her plan accordingly.

Until then, she had a shower to take, bags to unpack, and envelopes full of (hopefully) money to open. Dad and Rachel could sleep.

Rachel blinked in the soft light, groaning a bit as her muscles refused to move. She tilted her head up to see Noah's sleeping face. His lashes rested against his cheeks as he steadily breathed in an out. The stubble on his cheeks gave him a rugged appearance. She smiled as the memory of the night before flooded her mind. That had easily been the best sex she'd had in a long time, possibly at all.

Her fingers itched to explore his bare chest. Over his left pectoral muscle was a tattoo she'd failed to notice the night before. In beautiful script, the letters A.M.P. were inked in his skin. Anna's initials. She was named after a song and even her initials held musical connotations. The thought made Rachel smile again.

Anna, Noah's daughter. The angel of a girl with her father's devious streak whom she adored with all her heart.

Oh god, what had they done?

As if on cue, Rachel heard the shower turn on. Noah was still in bed beside her so Anna must be home.

_Shit_.

If Anna found out that she'd slept with her father, Rachel knew her relationship with the girl would be ruined. Anna couldn't know. She was too amazing and special to Rachel for one night to screw that up.

Rachel slipped out of his hold and sat up on the side of the bed. She had one of two options. Get out now while Anna was in the shower and the girl would never have to know she'd been there. She would call Noah later and explain her disappearance and why (no matter how incredible it had been) it shouldn't happen again. Or, she could go back to sleep, let Anna find them, and leave the explanations up to Noah. That hardly seemed fair or right for anyone involved.

Option one then.

Rachel quickly found her clothes and dressed as quietly as possible. Waking Noah would help no one. She grabbed her heels and went to the bedroom door, listening for any signs that said Anna was somewhere besides the bathroom. The girl's soft soprano voice drifted into the apartment. The coast was clear. As fast as she could, heels and clutch purse in hand, Rachel sprinted to the apartment door.

When the elevator dinged on her floor, she desperately pushed that empty feeling away.

Noah awoke because his side felt cold. He quickly realized that Rachel was no longer there, where she'd been all night. What the hell?

He didn't want to jump to conclusions but waking up alone when you'd been fully expecting a gorgeous woman to be in your arms sucked.

The sound of the television in the living room calmed him a little bit. Maybe she'd just got up early to watch TV. He grabbed a pair of sweatpants and scratched his stomach before making his way towards the noise.

Instead of seeing Rachel's head sticking up over the back of the couch, he saw his daughter's. She must have gotten home earlier. A quick sweep of the room told him Rachel wasn't with her.

"Baby girl, have you seen Rachel this morning?" Anna turned around and flung her wet hair out of her face.

"Wasn't she in bed with you?" Noah froze. So Anna had been home for a little while.

But wait, if Anna had seen Rachel in his bed, then Rachel had left after Anna got home. And if Anna didn't know that Rachel had left, Rachel must have snuck out.

What the fuck?

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	9. Chapter 9

**a/n: Hello loves! Sorry for the wait but you all know the bitchiness of my muse by now. This chapter takes place right where chapter 8 left off. Enjoy! I don't own Glee…**

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><p>Noah's first instinct told him to settle things with his daughter. While he'd always made it a point to never bring women home with him, he'd also never really kept his liaisons with women secret from Anna. She'd obviously found them this morning. No sense pretending like it didn't happen. Plus, he'd never been able to lie to Anna.<p>

"Um, how long have you been home?" Anna stood up from the couch and he could see the empty cereal bowl in her hands. Long enough to take shower and eat a bowl of cereal apparently.

Anna turned to see another episode of Scooby Doo coming on. She'd watched two already. "Probably an hour and a half. I'd thought breakfast would be ready when I got here but when I saw you and Rachel, I just got some cereal." Even though there was no malice in his daughter's words, they hit him like a punch to the stomach.

It was the weekend. For as long as Anna had been in this world, he'd made it a point that weekends meant family breakfast. She'd come home expecting breakfast and where had he been? In bed. With Rachel.

He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. Anna accepted his hug with a confused expression. "I'm sorry baby girl. I should've been awake to cook you breakfast." Anna cleared her throat against her dad's chest. He smelled different, like Rachel mixed with him. It was a nice smell.

"S'alright dad. But I got a question. If you and Rachel had sex, why'd she leave? Are you that bad at it?" Instantly, he tensed up. That was the last question he'd expected or wanted to hear from his daughter.

"I don't know why she left. But I'm gonna find out. And it wasn't because I'm bad at it. I'm _not_ bad at it." Anna's face scrunched up.

"Dad, I don't need to know these things." Her dad laughed but Anna realized she had to get the plan back on track. That meant the conversation might get into weird territory. "Do you like her?" There, that wasn't too weird.

"Rachel," he hedged. "Would it be okay with you if I did?" Anna had to bite her tongue from revealing her entire plan. She gave him a noncommittal shrug.

"Yeah, that'd be cool. Rachel's really awesome and nice. It's not like you need my permission or anything dad. But, if you do like her, you should go for it. I just want you to be happy dad." Anna smiled to herself. That answer sounded somewhat objective, and not as though she had a vested interest in the outcome.

Noah reached down and grabbed Anna's bowl so that he could put it in the sink in the kitchen. As he rinsed it out, his stomach growled and Anna giggled behind him. He looked over his shoulder in time to see her scrounging around in the refrigerator. "You still hungry?" On cue, Anna's stomach growled as she nodded her head. "Alright, give me a few minutes. I'm gonna go downstairs and see if I can talk Rachel into coming back up here and we can all eat breakfast. I'll make pancakes." Anna's eyes brightened a bit at the sound of pancakes.

"Heck yes! Plus, it'll save me from having to repeat my slumber party stories all over again to Rachel later. I can just tell you both at the same time." Noah grinned and placed another kiss to the top of Anna's head.

"I'll be back in just a second." Anna watched as he headed for the door and realized he was about to walk around the apartment building partially clothed.

"Hey what are you, an animal?" she yelled out. "You're not gonna put a shirt on?" She saw the grin on his face as he looked down at his bare chest.

"Nah, better chance she'll come back with me if I leave it off." Anna rolled her eyes as the apartment door shut behind him. Adults were so weird.

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><p>Rachel had the feeling that answering the door after sneaking out of Noah's apartment wasn't the best idea, but what else was she supposed to do? One thing she didn't expect was opening her door to a shirtless Noah Puckerman.<p>

Her mouth went dry as he stepped into her apartment. As her eyes followed him in the room, she could clearly see the crescent-shaped markings from her nails in his biceps and the scratch her heel had made in his back. She would've felt bad about it had it not been for the bite mark she'd found on her shoulder when she'd changed clothes earlier. Noah turned around with his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants. His eyes seemed to bore into her soul. He almost looked angry but there was something lingering on the edges that softened their appearance. At first, Rachel thought it was hurt. That couldn't be it. Could it?

"Why did you leave," he said, his voice somewhat tense. "Actually, I'd rather know why you _snuck out_." The way he practically growled the last two words reminded her of how he'd sounded growling her name. "You could also tell me why you snuck out _after_ Anna got home."

Rachel flinched a little at his clipped tone. He'd never sounded like that before. "I left because of her," she whispered. The way his brows furrowed sent a chill across her body.

"What's that supposed to mean," he questioned, already frustrated. Rachel cleared her throat.

"I didn't want Anna to know that I'd slept with her father. You have no idea how much I cherish that girl, my relationship with her. When I woke up this morning, at first all I could think of was last night. I kind of just wanted to stay and do it all over again. But then I saw your tattoo. Everything kind of hit me right then, what we'd done. Then I heard Anna in the apartment and I realized that if she saw me in the position we'd been in, she'd hate me. I couldn't stand it if she resented me simply because we gave in to a night of lust and passion. I feel horrible for sneaking out but I just couldn't bear the look I'm sure she would've given me. I had every intention of calling you so you wouldn't be angry with my leaving but you showed up before that happened. I'm sorry Noah."

The one thing sticking out in Noah's head was that Rachel had _only_ left to prevent Anna from finding out about them. She obviously didn't realize that plan had failed miserably.

He chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "She knows," he admitted. Rachel's eyes got wide as a gasp left her open mouth. "She got home way before either one of us woke up and saw us asleep in my room. She connected the dots from there. So really, you leaving didn't accomplish much of anything aside from making me wake up expecting a gorgeous woman to be in my arms only to find nothing but cold sheets."

For a moment, Rachel felt both flattered at his compliment and mortified that Anna knew. Was she angry? Did she hate her now? Noah had really wanted to wake up with her in his arms? Did that mean anything?

Noah seemed to understand at least half of the thoughts swirling in her head at the moment. "Look, she still loves you, if that's what you're worrying about. You're about to chew a hole through your lip." Rachel felt a small amount of relief wash over her, but not as much as she expected. What was that niggling feeling in the back of her mind? "Be honest with me Rachel. Do you regret last night? Because I sure as hell don't."

Rachel took a deep breath even as the strange constricting sensation in her chest tried to prevent it. Shaking her head, she answered, "no, I don't. It was amazing. I would love to do it again." He eyed her suspiciously.

"I feel a 'but' coming."

"Yes, well, _however_, considering the other factors involved in the situation, I think it would be best if we not," she paused, searching her brain for words that it was reluctant to give, "if we didn't get _horizontal_ again."

Noah snorted. They'd had sex and she couldn't even say it. Why did things feel more serious now? "We could have sex standing up," he suggested, only partially joking, "that's vertical." In spite of herself, Rachel giggled. But even through her laughter, she couldn't escape the feeling that he was only interested in sex. It certainly hadn't felt that way the night before, so why did his comment leave that impression?

"Noah," she started. He just shook his head to shut her up.

"Fine, I'll stop for now. But only if you come back upstairs and eat breakfast with us. Anna wanted to tell you all about her sleepover anyway." Rachel hesitated but Noah stepped closer. "Come on, I'm making pancakes." When his fingers slipped through hers, she couldn't say no anymore. Lucky he was only asking for breakfast because her control was shot.

"Okay." Rachel quickly found herself staring into his eyes. It felt like he was going to say more, like he wanted to say more. She realized she desperately wanted to know what it was. But Noah simply nodded and released her hand.

"Come on."

Back upstairs, Rachel was immediately worried once more that her relationship with Anna would be forever changed since the girl knew what had happened. But when Anna started in on her sleepover story as soon as she walked in, Rachel tried to put those worries to rest. Even with Anna's animated retelling of how she and her friend had _borrowed_ a room service cart to go exploring the hotel at one in the morning, Rachel just couldn't get those worries to completely shut up.

All throughout breakfast, Noah watched Rachel. He watched her with Anna. He watched as she ate pancakes with them. She fit there without even trying. Yeah, he could tell she was basically waiting for the other shoe to drop but that would pass. Once he got the chance to actually talk to her about the night they'd shared, and convince her to have a lot more, she'd see that they could date without it affecting her relationship with Anna. He would make sure of it. Something about Rachel, something that he'd felt since the first time he'd met her and had only grown stronger, urged him to pursue this. Whatever _this_ was, he didn't have a clue.

It wasn't until she stood up from the table at the end of the meal that he realized she was about to leave (again) and they'd had zero chances to talk.

"Thank you both for the lovely breakfast but I really should get going." Noah quickly pushed his chair out and got to his feet.

"Hold up, I'll walk you out." As he opened the door for Rachel, his hand naturally fell to the small of her back. "We need to talk about this. This stupid fear you seem to have about getting involved with me. I wanna know what's going on." He didn't like the cagey look that suddenly took over her eyes. He took a half-step back so she wouldn't feel trapped. Noah waited, not realizing that he was holding his breath, for her answer.

Rachel found her tongue in her throat. What was it about this man that made her body refuse to cooperate, turn her mind to goo, and force all the sense in her being to run for cover? "You have a family," she started, suddenly wondering where her years of breathing lessons had disappeared to. Noah seemed to be waiting for her to continue. "The life you have with Anna, you've worked hard to build that. I can't expect you to just include me in that." She watched as Noah's eyes flamed with something she couldn't name.

"Fuck that," his voice wasn't quite a growl but it came close enough that she almost flinched. She balked slightly at his words but the shake of his head kept her quiet. "Not sure if you've noticed Rachel but you're already included in our lives. My daughter, who you seemed to be hell-bent on using as an excuse to keep us apart, knows exactly what happened last night and guess what. She still thinks the sun shines out of your ass! So whatever bullshit your brain is overanalyzing right now, tell it to shove it. Now last night was, well fuck, you were there. I just want a straight answer as to why we can't have more of that."

And there it was. The statement Rachel had feared and expected. Her throat hitched and she felt sick. While she realized that she'd spent much of the morning coming up with reasons in her head as to why they should stop this before it went any further, it stung to know that the man who'd been almost gung-ho about beginning to date seriously only seemed to desire a few repeats of their fling. Rachel forced herself to unclench her fists and look into his eyes. "I can't do this right now." Though she hated that her voice came out in a mere whisper, she went on. "Maybe I am overanalyzing things but that's what I do. And at the moment, I need to do that alone. I'll talk to you later Noah." With that, she turned on her heel towards the stairwell, not trusting herself to be able to wait for the elevator.

Minutes later, Noah still stood in the hallway staring at the door Rachel had retreated through. He'd seen the change in her eyes at his words, the anger that flashed in them along with another emotion he'd rather not name to save himself from further confusion, but remained lost as to exactly what he'd said to garner that reaction.

One thing was for sure. He desperately wished he could go back in time to that morning before everything had gotten so fucked up.

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><p>Kurt held back a moan as his friend polished off the last of the Italian Heart Attack sandwich he'd ordered from the deli down the street from their office building. He glanced down at his own lunch, a dressingless, meatless, flavorless Caesar salad, and cursed the day he'd decided to go on the diet from Hell.<p>

Noah eyed the other man for a moment before a snort left his body. "You're killing me with the googley eyes dude." With a soft chuckle, he reached into the brown bag bearing the deli's logo and pulled out the twin to the sandwich he'd just finished. Kurt's eyes widened as he slid it across the table. "I had them put extra lettuce on yours so you can pretend it's the diet version." The words were barely out of his mouth before Kurt practically inhaled half of the sandwich in one breath. Noah had to laugh.

It seemed to be a routine they'd developed over the years. Each time Kurt went on some ridiculous diet, Noah was there taunting him with food he wasn't supposed to have. Kurt had very little willpower when it came to food. Somehow, he still managed to maintain the body of a figure skater.

The sigh Noah let out caught Kurt's attention. The melancholy mood he'd sported for the last couple of days hadn't escaped his notice either. Anna had told him about how she'd found Rachel in his bed the morning after her bat mitzvah. Something like that made Kurt assume that his friend's mood would be fantastic. But when Anna informed him that her father's somewhat surly attitude had begun later that same day, Kurt knew something was amiss. Noah, however, had yet to mention anything. Kurt knew that it would be up to him to get the ball rolling.

"So," he began as he swallowed the last bite of his gift, "what's been going on with you lately? You haven't once made fun of my sweater. You were daydreaming during the meeting this morning. You just haven't been yourself. Should I be worried?" Noah gave this forlorn sigh that made Kurt wonder if he was going to get anything out of the man. Finally, he looked around the break room to see if anyone else was listening, then said,

"After Anna's bat mitzvah, Rachel and I slept together." Kurt feigned a look of gentle shock and replied,

"Well finally! About damn time I say. The sexual tension between the two of you has always been a bit stifling. What's the problem then?"

Noah furrowed his brows. "I'm not really sure to be honest. We flirted all night at the party, way more than we've been doing. Once everything was over, I couldn't hold back anymore. So I kissed her. I didn't even think about it. That happened the first time I kissed her too. It's like a reflex or something." Kurt arched an eyebrow at the new information. So there had been another kiss apparently, before all of this happened. Anna would definitely be interested in that tidbit of information. He made a mental note to find out more about that later.

"So what's the problem then?" Noah shrugged his shoulders. Kurt had never seen the man look so helpless.

"I don't know. The sex was incredible, like we knew each other already but it was still all new, you know? Afterwards, we fell asleep. It just all felt right, being with her." Suddenly, his face hardened. "The next morning, I wake up and she's not there. Anna had gotten home already but Rachel was nowhere. So I went down to her apartment to ask why the hell she just left like that. She started in on some crap about how she didn't want Anna to find out because it would ruin their relationship or something. I don't buy it." Noah thought for a second. "Maybe she thinks I've got too much baggage. Single father with a teenage daughter, it's not like it'd be the first time that sent someone running. Maybe she's scared of getting involved in a relationship with me because of that." Kurt shook his head dismissively.

"Considering how much we know Rachel adores Anna, I highly doubt she's the kind of woman to let something like that bother her. But you have to admit, getting involved with someone who has a child is a big risk, especially if the child knows and is an active part of the dynamic. Did you even let Rachel know you were interested in dating her?" Noah's shoulders tensed and his answer was immediate.

"Yes!" He paused, seeming to ponder his answer. Hesitantly, he amended, "sort of". Kurt looked at him with his nose slightly upturned. "No," Noah finally admitted, "but after the sex that we had, it was pretty much implied that there should be a lot more to follow it." Kurt placed both of his hands on the table in front of him and leaned in with comically wide eyes.

"Please tell me you didn't say something to Rachel that may have insinuated you only wanted to have sex with her again rather than start a meaningful relationship with her." He could tell that Noah was going back over his and Rachel's conversation in his head. If only Anna had eavesdropped on the adults, he could know exactly what had been said. A look of dawning crossed Noah's features but his frustration quickly masked it.

"So what if I did? It's not like I'm looking for a wife or anything. Just somebody I can have a good time with, who gets along with Anna, someone who trusts me with things that are important to them and I could do the same. I want someone who wants me."

Neither man mentioned what they both knew to be true; that Rachel fit that description to a T.

Then it hit Kurt. While yes, Noah's feelings about Rachel were quite clear, they didn't know for certain how Rachel felt about him. Rachel wasn't likely to spill her secrets to Anna, at least not on this particular subject, nor was she likely to divulge anything of use to him considering his friendship with Noah. It occurred to Kurt that he and Anna needed an inside man if they wanted to discover Rachel's true feelings on the matter.

Carefully, he hid his smile from the man across the table. If Anna would agree to it, he had the perfect man for the job.

Kurt took a small breath and gave Noah the most useless response he could think of. "I'm sure it'll work out." Noah just shot him a look that said exactly how useless that comment was.

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><p>Rachel sipped at her tea before opening her script up to the page she needed. Just as she sat down on the couch, a sound over her head caught her attention. Feet shuffling across the floor, the gentle scrape of a chair, followed by the twang of guitar strings being plucked into a melody. Though her ear strained to identify the song through a ceiling and a floor, Rachel couldn't name what he played. It wasn't easy, feeling so close and not being able to do anything about it.<p>

She was so engrossed in her thoughts and absentminded listening to the muffled song from the apartment upstairs that the knock on the door to her own apartment startled her. The tea cup in her hands almost flew across the room. Before she could get her bearings to see who the visitor was, the door opened and Blaine walked in.

"Sweetie, you look like you've seen a ghost. Are you okay?" Rachel caught her breath and sank back against her couch cushions.

"You startled me is all." Blaine stared at her for a moment before shrugging off his sweater and running a hand through his hair.

"You called me over to run lines with you," he stated. "Shouldn't you have been expecting me?" The sudden blaze in Rachel's eyes caught him completely by surprise.

"I was still surprised when you knocked. What's the big deal," she snapped. In the stunned silence that followed, Blaine heard it, the soft guitar piece coming from upstairs. Suddenly he knew exactly what had his friend so on edge. Before he could mention it, Rachel got up and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Can you say _mood swing_? "Blaine I'm so sorry. I've just been stressed lately. Paul and Thomas can't seem to make their minds up about who should be cast as Michael. They've managed to narrow it down to three guys but they want me to come in and scene test with all of them to determine who I have better stage chemistry with, how well we play off each other, how our voices mesh, that sort of thing. I've got all of the scenes memorized already but I need you to run lines with me. I just keep feeling so scattered and flustered. I don't know what's going on. I just can't think straight with that damn guitar music playing all the time!" Rachel's fists curled into Blaine's shirt. All he could do was rub his hands up and down her back, trying to calm her down. Every feeling in his body was telling him this had to do with what Kurt had told him about Noah. He had to get to the bottom of this.

"Okay honey, sit down. Let me get you some water and then you're going to tell me what's got you all out of sorts." Rachel nodded numbly as she let go of him to sit down. She felt hot, her throat felt dry, and her skin seemed too tight. When Blaine brought her the glass of water, she took it gratefully. He stared at her expectantly but she just didn't know where to start. "I don't think you're going to be able to attribute this to PMS Rach." He watched as her head tilted to the side and knew she was listening for any sounds of activity from above them. "This is about Noah, isn't it," he ventured since she seemed unwilling to start the conversation. For a moment, she only nodded her head.

"It was the night of Anna's bat mitzvah. There was a lot of flirting and touching all throughout the party and by the end of it, we both had to have more. Have you ever felt so comfortable with someone that you could laugh during sex and it only made it better?" Blaine didn't answer so she continued. "It was incredible. I'd never felt that _connected_ to someone before. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it, about him, since then. God how much of a girl am I?" She gave a mirthless laugh and rolled her eyes. "When I woke up the next morning, I heard Anna and I freaked out. I snuck out but it didn't take long for Noah to come knocking on my door. He seemed angry that I'd left but all I could think of was how Anna would see me after all of this. I let him talk me into coming back upstairs to eat breakfast and Anna didn't seem to care but I can't be sure. Afterwards, Noah made a comment that makes me think he's only interested in sex. I don't know why it hurt like it did, like it does, but I keep hearing him talk about wanting to date and find a serious girlfriend but then all he wants from me is sex. What the hell does that even mean? And then what would happen if somehow we did start a relationship? I would hate myself if I felt I was distracting him from being a good father. And Anna has only ever known life with her dad. Would she start to think of me as some harpy just swooping in to steal her dad away from her? Or would she think I was trying to replace the mother she never had? There're just too many unknowns Blaine. I don't know what to do. And it sucks." With an exhausted sigh, she slumped back and rubbed her temples as the beginning of a headache started to lick at her frayed nerves.

"Rachel, you need to talk to the man." Rachel scoffed but Blaine reached across and placed his hand on her knee. "I'm serious. All of those questions you're driving yourself crazy with, he's the only one who can answer them. And I think that, if he knew how all of this was making you feel, he would answer them in a heartbeat. Guys like Carter have you gun-shy, thinking that you're not gonna find someone who wants you like you want them, and it hurts. Honey I know. But when you've got a shot like this, take it. And don't look back."

Rachel took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The image of Noah that had been there for days just wouldn't go away.

"Blaine, could we just run lines now? I don't really want to think about this anymore tonight." Her tone said the discussion was over so Blaine picked the script up from the coffee table and met her gaze.

"Alright, where do you want to begin?"

Later that night, long after Blaine had gone home, Rachel flipped the television off and decided that if she was going to get any sleep at all, she might as well try to go to bed. She stood over the kitchen sink and poured her teacup's tepid contents down the drain. As she tried to decide whether or not to make a cup of chamomile tea to ease her nerves, there was a knock on the door. Assuming that Blaine had left something, she quickly crossed the apartment and opened the door. With a gasp, she realized it wasn't Blaine.

"Can I come in?" Rachel wanted to say yes and no at the same time. Seeing the way his shoulders slumped a little, how his eyes held a quiet need, the yes won and she stepped aside. Noah kept his gaze on her as he stepped over to the couch and sat down, waiting for her to do the same. Blaine's words echoed in her mind. She tried to will herself to ask those questions but her throat had gone dry again. When she finally sat down, she decided to just let him say his piece. He cleared his throat and somehow the look in his eyes intensified. "I'm sorry about coming by so late but I was hoping we could talk."

"About what?" She could tell her forced nonchalance hadn't fooled him but it was all she had.

"Don't play dumb Rachel. You know exactly what I want to talk about. I should've been straightforward with you about what I wanted from the start. I thought I was to be honest but clearly there's a lot of confusion between us and we need to get rid of that, get past it all." Angrily, Rachel looked away and whispered,

"Maybe it shouldn't have happened at all. That would certainly clear up any confusion." As soon as the words left her lips, Noah reached over and pulled on her chin so she would look at him again.

"_Don't_ _say_ _that_. You told me you didn't regret it. Are you gonna try and tell me that was a lie now? Talk to me baby. Quit trying to shut me out."

She couldn't be sure who moved in first but the second his lips touched hers, it didn't matter. His tongue had a numbing quality that whenever it touched hers, she felt tension leave her body. Noah tangled his fingers in her hand and gently pushed until her back was flat against the couch. His breath was hot against her face whenever he pulled back for air. She wanted more of it all, more of everything, more of him. His body felt so solid over hers, the way he fit between her legs was perfect. Rachel moaned when he nipped at her neck, so possessive, so physical. Like the first time…

Suddenly, her mind began to repeat 'too many unknowns' like a broken record. They hadn't discussed anything. Despite how wonderful it felt, their bodies didn't need to do all the talking. Not yet at least. Nothing would get done that way.

"Noah," she whispered, "stop." In an instant, she no longer felt the pressure of his body. She missed it just as quickly. Rachel opened her eyes and saw him standing up instead of sitting on the couch. She sat up, trying to calm her speeding pulse. "We've got to stop that. I can't think straight."

Noah's eyes hardened at her words and she realized how he'd taken them. She wanted to talk, to clear everything up, the very reason he came in the first place, and Rachel knew that continuing to kiss him on the couch would solve nothing but the ache at her core. Before she could correct the mistake, he started for the door.

"Fine. I'll leave and you can think all you want. Forget it Rachel." The slamming door seemed to punctuate his sentence with a finality that she hated.

Well the fat lady could choke because this was _not_ over.

**Like it? Hate it? Please tell me in a review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**a/n: Hi everyone! This is the last chapter (well the epilogue is next so it's not **_**completely**_** over yet) so I hope everyone enjoys it. I don't know what else to say except I don't own Glee, please review, and I love you guys! Thank you!**

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><p>Why did adults have to be so damn complicated? Anna glared at her reflection in the elevator doors as the question roiled in her mind. The doors had barely opened a crack before she slipped through and headed towards the door marked 4G. This time, when she burst through uninvited and unannounced, it was not gonna be an accident.<p>

Anna stopped in front of Rachel's door. She reminded herself that until she got to the bottom of this, Rachel wasn't her friend. Rachel was currently the woman responsible for the ridiculously bad mood her dad had been in for the past two days. It was getting out of hand. Before her brain could convince her that this was a terrible idea, Anna put her hand on the doorknob and took a deep breath.

Rachel was in the kitchen when she heard her front door open. She wasn't expecting anyone so a small sliver of fear shot through her. Mentally chastising herself for forgetting to lock the door when she'd gotten home earlier, Rachel cautiously poked her head around the doorway. The relief she felt when she saw Anna standing there instead of a hulking burglar diminished slightly when anger flashed in the younger girl's eyes. So this was it, Rachel resigned. This was where Anna would finally tell her how she really felt about what had happened days ago. Rachel steeled her nerves and took a deep breath even though she knew the teenager was likely to be quite hostile towards her. As she stepped into the living room and cleared her throat, Anna turned to face her, a fire in her eyes so much like her father's it nearly knocked her back.

"You," Anna spoke, "what did you do to my dad? What did you say to him?" Rachel's brows furrowed. That certainly hadn't been what she'd expected to hear from the girl.

"What are you talking about?" Anna's eyes narrowed a bit at not having her question answered immediately.

"My dad came down here to talk to you a couple days ago and ever since, he's been in a crappy mood. I wanna know what you said to him that's made him all pissy." Anna crossed her arms in a defiant stance, once more reminding Rachel of Noah.

"Sweetie, I think that's a conversation best kept between adults." A sneer unfurled across Anna's face that caught Rachel by surprise.

"Bullshit," the girl snapped. Rachel's eyes widened but Anna took a deep breath. "You've never been condescending to me before Rachel. Don't start now." Anna paused and fixed her gaze on Rachel. "Look, I know what happened the night of my bat mitzvah. You and my dad had sex. And I'm cool with that. But then, this mood of his started and I'm pretty freaking positive that it's connected to you. Tell me what's going on because if I ask my dad about it, he'll just change the subject and I want answers."

Rachel let out a sigh. Some of the anger in Anna's voice had faded but she knew the girl wouldn't leave without the answers she'd come for. She moved around and sat down on the couch, motioning for Anna to do the same. When Anna got situated, she faced Rachel and waited. "Anna, you know I love you. Since the moment you first accidentally walked through my door, I knew you were an amazing girl. And the friendship we have is very dear to me. And although I've managed to develop feelings for your father, I was scared that if I pursued a romantic relationship with him, you would possibly feel slighted."

Anna almost laughed out loud at the irony. Her she was, doing her damnedest to plot and scheme to bring the two adults together and the whole time, Rachel assumed that she wouldn't like her anymore if they did get together. "That's so stupid," Anna stated, holding in a snicker. Rachel smoothed a hand over her pants leg and gave a small huff of annoyance.

"Your dad said something of the sort as well." Rachel looked over at Anna with a soft sigh. "You have to understand, I was worried that you would think I was trying to replace your…" She trailed off at the end but Anna heard her loud and clear. Anna nodded her head.

"My mother," she finished. Rachel lowered her chin in a gentle nod and Anna cleared her throat. "Rach, I never knew my mom. My dad's told me stories about her before but it's not like she was the love of his life or anything. He's never just come out and told me before but I'm pretty sure they didn't even like each other that much. It's sad but, sometimes, she's just a picture of a woman who looks like me. You can't replace something that was never there." As discreetly as possible, she flicked a stupid tear away before it could roll down her cheek. This crap was _way_ above her maturity level. "Stop worrying about that, okay?" Rachel smiled at her and nodded her head again.

"Okay." Anna quickly went over the other things Rachel had said and her brows knitted together.

"Wait, you said you had feelings for my dad. Then why has his mood been horrible ever since he talked to you?" A slight guilty look crossed Rachel's face which made Anna worry.

Rachel warred with herself over whether or not she should tell Anna what really happened. The fact that Anna would most likely be able to tell if she was lying made her decision. "When Noah came over the other night, he wanted to get things cleared up between us. But before we really got a chance to talk, we started to," Rachel paused, suddenly very aware of who she was talking to, but swallowed her nerves and continued, "we started to kiss. But I knew that if we kept doing that, we wouldn't get much talking done. When I told him we should stop, he responded by storming out. He thought I was rejecting him but I honestly wanted to get everything out in the open before we allowed _distractions_ to get in the way."

It all made so much sense. He really liked Rachel and because of his whole stupid man-pride thing, her rejection had hurt him more than he wanted to admit. Anna fought the urge to roll her eyes. Were all adults this dense or had she won some lottery? "So, if you weren't rejecting my dad, why haven't you tried to fix it? I mean, this happened two days ago. You said you had feelings for him. What are you waiting for?"

"I wanted to go after him as soon as he left the other night but I thought he might want some time to cool off. But for the past couple of days, I've been in casting tests for the musical and they've taken up all of my time. This isn't exactly a matter to be discussed over the phone so I was trying to wait until I had some actual free time before going to him. Of course, I wasn't expecting this little confrontation when I got home from the grocery store either." Rachel gave the girl a light smile and found herself relieve when Anna returned it. She felt much of the tension and worry she'd been carrying around over the whole situation ease out of her body. Anna scooted closer to her on the couch and wrapped her arms around Rachel's shoulders. Rachel immediately returned the hug as she realized that all of her worries and fears had been pretty pointless.

Anna exhaled quietly before she pulled away. "Okay, enough being sappy. You like my dad. My dad likes you. Fix this. It's pretty simple." She laughed softly, meeting Rachel's eyes. "I love my dad more than anything and I want him to be happy. I want him to find someone who will put him first, because that's what he does for the people he truly cares about. That's the kind of man he is." Rachel nodded her understanding and watched as Anna stood up. "I should go before he realizes I'm not doing my homework. This seemed more important though." Anna strode to the door with sure, confident steps. When she opened the door, Rachel opened her mouth to tell her goodbye but Anna turned around and smiled. "Oh and Rachel, love you too." Then she was gone before Rachel could form a reply.

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><p>Noah let the knife slice easily through the tender eggplant in time with the triplet beat going through his head. He could hear Anna and Kurt arguing about the movie night movie in the living room as he checked on the meat sauce. Though he had no idea what their choices were, he hoped his kid won. Kurt was shit at picking movies.<p>

After a few minutes of more arguing where Noah figured he'd have to physically break them up, they finally quieted down. He'd finished slicing the eggplant when he heard a knock on the door. The familiar sound of a woman's voice made the muscles in his neck tense up. He _knew_ that voice. It was the same voice that had been stuck in his head, his dreams, for the past week. Carefully, Noah put the knife down and walked into the living room to see the object of both his frustration and desire standing in the doorway talking to his daughter.

"What are you doing here," Noah interrupted them, his voice cold. Rachel looked up at him and for just a second, he thought she looked happy to see him. She stepped into the apartment and he had no choice but to look at the pink wrap dress she had on. The bow on her hip didn't appear to be tied very tight. One good tug and…_fuck_!

"I had hoped we could talk, alone." Noah turned one side of his mouth up in a sneer and motioned to Kurt.

"Well as you can see, it's movie night and we have company. Plus I'm making dinner. I don't have time to talk." When Rachel bit down on her lip, he almost took it all back. Almost. But then Kurt stood up and grabbed Anna's arm.

"Actually Rachel," Kurt started, purposely ignoring the death stare Noah shot at him, "Anna and I were just about to leave so we could get some popcorn for later since Noah doesn't have the kind I like." Noah crossed his arms and glared at his friend.

"I _have_ popcorn. I know for a fact that it's the brand you like because you left the shit here last time." Kurt's eyes went wide for a split second but then he shook his head and waved a dismissive hand.

"I don't like that brand anymore," he said as fast as possible. "Come on Anna, let's go find some popcorn I can tolerate. There you go Rachel, you two can talk. See you guys!" Kurt was gone so fast, he almost caught Anna's hand in the door in his rush to close it. Noah had no choice but to stand there, mouth agape, staring at both Rachel and the front door. After a minute, he just turned on his heel and stalked back to the kitchen.

Rachel followed him into the kitchen. Seeing the way his shoulder blades stretched the fabric of his grey Henley shirt made her mouth water. Absently, she wondered if he still had the mark from her heel right above the waistline of his jeans. With his back turned, she took a little time to admire the way the denim hugged the subtle curve of his rear. The man had a great ass. Realizing that her brain was straying off topic before the conversation had even begun, Rachel cleared her throat. "It smells wonderful. What are you making?" She figured she should start simple.

"Moussaka," he grunted. Then his shoulders slacked a little, like a bit of tension left them, and he added, "I took Anna to this Greek place for her birthday one year and she got hooked on the stuff. I make it every once in a while." Like a switch, he tensed up again. "Can't imagine what you'd want to talk about. Got your point loud and clear the other night. You're not interested. I get it. No need to come into my home and have a discussion just so you can hammer the point in a little more." The acid in his tone made Rachel bristle.

"Well if I remember correctly, _I_ made no such statements and _you_ left before any discussion of any sort could be had!" At that, he whirled around and fixed her with a gaze so fiery, she felt the temperature in the room go up a few degrees.

"You told me stop," he shot at her, curling his fingers into the countertop as his jaw set in fierce determination.

"Yes, I told you to stop, not to get out," Rachel fired back. "You came to my apartment so we could talk, not to make out with me. I knew that if we continued kissing, we'd never talk about anything and then nothing would've gotten solved. So I told you to stop in order for us to talk. But you stormed out and by the time I realized how you'd taken my actions, I figured you needed some time to cool down." He visibly deflated. It seemed as though whatever argument he'd prepared no longer applied.

"Is that why you're just now coming by? You thought I'd finally cooled off?" Rachel nodded as she moved a little closer.

"That's not the only reason. I got busy with the musical and for the last couple of nights, I've been getting home too late for it to be appropriate to seek you out for any conversation." She paused when she stood right in front of him, got caught in his eyes for a moment, and had to clear her throat again. "But just so we're clear, I did not tell you to stop because I'm not interested. Get that through your head right now." In spite of himself, Noah snorted a laugh at her demand. "When I first considered getting involved with you, I didn't think it was a good idea because of your family." Noah rolled his eyes and interjected,

"That's stupid."

"I agree," Rachel answered, pleased at the look of surprise on his face, "but I was scared that I would be intruding on a relationship that both you and Anna have worked hard for years to achieve. I was scared that Anna would think I'd become just another woman after her father. And I was scared that you were only interested in a sexual relationship with me. While I realize that being opposed to a relationship with you contradicts my fear of you only desiring sex from me, I can't explain it. Sometimes, I'm quite irrational. The truth is, all of those fears are ridiculous. I probably would've realized that a lot sooner if I'd just listened to you but what's done is done. Right now, the only thing I'm afraid of is you telling me to leave."

Making quick work of turning all of the stove eyes off, Noah turned back around with a soft smile on his face. "You know, when I first decided that I wanted to start dating, you were the first woman I thought of. And not just for the convenience of you living right downstairs." Both of them chuckled, glad for the light joke and the way it melted the remaining remnants of tension. "But at the time, I still thought you were dating that douche bag. Then Kurt was setting me up on dates from Hell. Every damn time I saw you, I wanted to ask you out but my brain wouldn't come up with the words. And then the night of the party happened and I figured, 'hey, so what if we skip a few steps'. When I woke up that morning and realized you'd snuck out, I was kind of pissed. I promise, the other night when I came to your place, I only wanted to talk, kinda like we're doing now, but it felt like you were shutting me out. So I kissed you. It was my dumb attempt to remind you that we could be good together. When you told me to stop, obviously I took it the wrong way. Thought you meant 'stop _everything_'. As you can see, I revert to a pitiful teenager when rejected by the girl I like." Even with the funny way he put it, Rachel felt her heart swell just a little at being referred to as 'the girl he likes'. She shifted on her feet as a nervous giggle escaped her throat.

"So what do we do now?" Rachel looked up at him and the ghost of a smile that came across his face made her shiver.

"Well, we could do this the middle school way." Noah ducked his head and shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He raised one foot and nudged it against her leg. "So uh, Rach, you wanna, um, go out with me?" Rachel immediately found herself laughing at his antics but he continued the act. "No for real, I could take you to the movies, you could let me get to second base, we'd have a cool time. Then I'd tell everyone you were my girlfriend so they could leave you the fuck alone." Rachel couldn't stop giggling. He was too cute for his own good. She placed her hand on his chest to help keep her balanced and tried to regain some semblance of self-control.

"And what about the adult way?" By the way she'd phrased her question, the gleam in his eyes shouldn't have been much of a surprise.

"Oh that's a lot more fun. Come here." Rachel gasped when his arm came around her waist and pulled her flush against his body. His mouth descended on her neck and she moaned at the contact when he nipped at her collarbone. Before she knew it, Noah had her hips firm in his hands, lifting her up on the counter. His kiss seemed especially designed to drive her insane with desire. When he stepped between her legs, she could feel a very prominent bulge pressing against her. Rachel swallowed all of the sounds that threatened to burst from her chest. Kissing him just felt so right. His tongue caressed hers with a gentle precision, making her insides clench. They both knew where this would lead. Rachel couldn't deny that she wanted him, wanted to be with him, in every sense of the word. He pushed her legs a little further apart and her breath caught in her lungs.

"Noah," Rachel gasped softly, even as her tongue darted out against his earlobe, "considering how new the relationship is," she paused as she felt him tugging on the belt that held her dress together, "don't you think that it might be a better plan for us to take things slow?"

The deep throaty chuckle he gave in response shot straight to her core. It barely registered when he pulled his shirt over his head because suddenly all of her senses were being assaulted by pure man. His bronzed skin was everywhere and perfect. When his voice sounded in her ear, she half-expected to come on the spot from the intense vibrations that licked through her body. "I think I should fuck you slowly while you attempt to think of a different plan."

Before she knew it, he'd pushed a condom into her palm and her dress was open, dangling off her shoulders. Considering that he'd placed her on the end of the counter a safe distance away from any sharp utensils and food, (coupled with the fact that she didn't think they'd be able to make it to the bedroom if they tried) Rachel bit off the side of the condom wrapper as he quickly unzipped his jeans. The sight of him made her mouth water all over again. Noah hissed through his teeth as she stroked his penis, readying him for the condom. In no time at all, he was rigid as steel. The second she had the condom in place, he captured her mouth again. His fingers easily pushed the barrier of her panties out of the way and she gasped when his thumb brushed against her clit. As he moved closer, Rachel arched her hips in hopes of getting contact as soon as possible. Her body was on fire and it was all his fault.

Noah let out a harsh groan as he slid into her with ease. When she wrapped her legs around him, he pushed in deeper. How did she manage to feel so perfect? Rachel angled her hips again, just right, and Noah almost felt his legs go out from under him. There was that _home_ feeling again, the same one he'd gotten the first time they'd slept together. This time, instead of ignoring it each time he sank into her, he let it wash over him. He trailed his fingers around to her backside and lifted her off the counter. Rachel held on to his shoulders as her knees clamped down on his hips, mimicking what her body was doing to his dick. He walked over to the wall beside the kitchen's entrance and propped her up, bracketing his hips against hers. When their gazes met, she had this sexy smirk on her face that made him just want to pound into her so hard and fast, there'd be dents in the drywall when they got done. But he'd said slow so damn it, slow was what she was going to get.

He began an agonizing pace, slow enough to drive them both insane with need, of pulling out as far as he could with her knees locked on him before sinking back in one inch at a time. When Rachel bit at his lip and then soothed over it with the tip of her tongue, he thought he was going to explode. Using the grasp she had on his shoulders, Rachel pulled him closer. Every inch of their bodies, from where they connected all the way up to their foreheads, was pressed together. It was so easy, yet so intimate. He felt her hands on the sides of his face, maintaining eye contact, and then her lips were on his again.

Rachel felt it building, like a slow burn, in the pit of her stomach. Something changed in Noah's rhythm, something small that you wouldn't expect to make a difference, and she suddenly felt like every nerve was shooting off sparks. No words came out of her open mouth but the sparks kept tingling all throughout her body. It was amazing.

Noah knew that if he really tried, he could coerce another orgasm from Rachel's body. After everything they'd been through over the past couple of days, and with what promised to be a fun and bumpy relationship ahead of them, he figured they should start it on a really good note. Preferably a high note that would sound like his name.

He cupped her cheek in one hand as he thrust hard, turning the tables on her. He had to smile at the way her breath came in time with his thrusts. She was still riding the waves of her first orgasm when the second, more powerful, one crashed over her. When she did say his name, it wasn't a scream, but a whisper spoken through kiss-swollen lips. It still sounded as sweet as he'd been imagining it in his head.

He dropped his head on her shoulder and the feel of her delicate fingers carding through the short hair on his head was almost as good as when he spent himself inside her. Rachel's body continued to pulse around him so he held her until she relaxed in his arms. It was kind of cool how just having her in his arms made everything melt away.

As Rachel stood again on her own two feet, tying her dress back up, she watched Noah right his own clothing. She was positive that she looked thoroughly fucked while he looked like his usual gorgeous self, sinful smirk and all. After he'd zipped his pants back up and made sure that his shirt wasn't on backwards, he walked back over to her. With the most tantalizingly chaste kiss to her lips, he smoothed a hand over her hair and smiled.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" Rachel grinned and placed her arms around his neck.

"I would love to stay for dinner." Suddenly, she felt a light swat on her butt cheek right before Noah backed away.

"Good, so get over here and help me finish making it since you distracted me in the first place." She let out a playful scoff but moved to the sink to wash her hands as Noah turned the stove eyes back on in order to reheat the sauces.

A little bit later, the moussaka was in the oven and Rachel was seated in between Noah's legs on the couch. They'd gone ahead and started the movie since they'd practically given up hope that Anna and Kurt were coming back at all. Emma Stone was singing "Pocketful of Sunshine" at the top of her lungs when the front door opened.

Anna walked in, followed by Kurt and Blaine whom they'd picked up in case they needed reinforcements, and all three of them stared for just a second. Anna wanted to squeal just a little bit when she saw the way her dad's arms were wrapped around Rachel's midsection. Right then, she just knew everything was okay.

Nobody mentioned that they didn't bring back any popcorn.

Turning to the two men behind her, her cohorts, Anna triumphantly placed her hands on her hips and declared, "See! I told you everything's better when my plans work out!"

Rachel inclined her head to see that Noah's expression matched hers and they both exclaimed, "Wait, what!"

**Next up, the epilogue!**


	11. Epilogue

**I don't own Glee or "I Fought the Law" by The Clash. Please review!**

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><p><strong>Epilogue<strong>

_**Three years later…**_

Rachel had just grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator when she heard it. The initial raising of voices wasn't exactly scary; it was the yelling that it was almost certain to evolve into.

"Anna, don't walk away from me when I'm talking to you!" And there it was. Rachel slowly stepped out of the kitchen in time to see Anna burst from the hallway with Noah hot on her heels.

"You're not talking to me. You're ordering me around!" Anna quickly crossed her arms and breathed heavily through her nose. Noah did the same. Rachel knew that laughing wouldn't be the best idea but it was difficult to swallow her chuckle. The two were _so_ alike.

"I'm not ordering you around. I'm saying you're too young. And guess what. Even if I was ordering you around, I'm the _dad_! It comes with the territory." At that, Rachel did laugh which made the other two notice her standing there.

"What's going on?" Anna took the time that Noah looked at Rachel to shoot a glare at her father.

"Joey asked me on a date and dad says I'm too young. But we all know the real reason is because dad hates Joey and he always has." Noah instantly turned back around to face Anna.

"You're damn straight. I don't like the kid because I know his type. Hell, I used to be just like him. Which is all the more reason why I say you're too young to date. Too young to date anybody, not just him." Anna released a frustrated growl and stomped her foot against the floor. They returned to a glare-off of sorts but Noah's glare was, as usual, far more potent than the headstrong sixteen year olds. Anna blinked first which brought a haughty smirk to Noah's face. "Besides, if the little punk wants to date you at all, he can bring his ass to my door and ask for my permission." Anna's mouth dropped open. Rachel was honestly a little shocked at Noah's suggestions too. It was common knowledge that Joey Green was still terrified of Anna's father due to the impression Noah had left back when he found out that Joey had kissed Anna. Though the boy's crush on Anna had obviously never gone away, he still did his best to never place himself in Noah's direct line of sight. Noah suggesting that Joey would have to face him and ask permission to date Anna wasn't very likely to happen. Then again, Rachel thought to herself, she'd seen Joey and Anna together on occasion and it never failed that he looked at her like she hung the moon and stars.

"Oh my god! Do you even hear yourself dad? Not only is that the _dumbest_ idea I've ever heard, but it's patriarchal and archaic. It's the twenty-first century. Please, join us." Noah just crossed his arms again. Briefly, Rachel wondered if he'd been working out more. His biceps and forearms seemed to be more bulging than usual.

"Yeah I don't care. That's my condition. I'll forget the age thing if he comes here and asks my permission." Rachel knew by the look on Anna's face that no matter what her next words happened to be, they would be yelled loudly.

"Wait," Rachel started. Anna and Noah faced her again. "I have an idea. What if Joey came here and ate dinner with us all? It could give Noah a chance to get to know him a little better and it would take a little of the pressure off of Joey so he would be able to ask for permission." Anna looked at Rachel as though she'd sprouted another head.

"You're kidding me right?" She scoffed softly and smoothed her shirt down. "If Joey's too terrified of dad to even come here and ask that stupid question, there's no way in hell he would sit through a meal with him." Rachel took Anna's hand and looked into the girl's eyes.

"Anna," she stated calmly, "if that boy doesn't care enough about you to do this one little thing, then he's not worth a second of your time and you know it." Anna stared at Rachel for just a second before she gave the tiniest, almost imperceptible, of nods.

"I know. Let me call and tell him what hoop he has to jump through now. Dinner with the parents. Yay." She started to walk back to her room but Noah asked,

"He's not allergic to anything, is he? I'd hate to kill the kid on accident." Anna stopped in her tracks and just shook her head.

"You'd much rather kill him on purpose so you can take the credit," she muttered to herself. Rachel snickered.

"What was that, baby girl? Might wanna speak up a little." Noah was smirking a little as he said it but Anna started walking again.

"I said I love you guys so much!" Her door slammed shut and four seconds later, they could hear the drum intro to The Clash's 'I Fought the Law' coming from her room.

Noah and Rachel looked at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter. Noah wrapped his arms around Rachel's shoulders and placed a happy lingering kiss on her lips

"Thank you," he whispered with a smile, "you're always better at diffusing her than I am. But I think I know why my mom yelled so much when I was a kid." Rachel pursed her lips and said,

"Because you were a hellion. She told me that at our engagement party." Noah chuckled but shook his head.

"No, that's not it. It's fucking fun!" Rachel rolled her eyes at the man and took his hand. As she led him towards the couch, he quickly snagged her around the waist and pressed his lips to her neck. "This is a lot of fun too," he chuckled against her heated skin. Rachel squirmed for just a second in his arms before giving up the pretense of a fight. Just as his mouth was about to make her lose her senses, her phone buzzed to life in her pocket. "Ignore it," Noah drawled. Breathless, Rachel managed to pull away from him.

"It could be the theater Noah, or Kurt." When she pulled the phone out and looked at the screen, she sighed. "Or your mother."

Noah winced but Rachel just smiled and answered the phone. Ever since he'd proposed, his mother had been calling Rachel at least three times a week (she called her more than she called _him_) to discuss one wedding thing or another. More than once, they'd considered just going to the courthouse to get it over with a be rid of the stress but he already knew how much Rachel wanted a Temple wedding so he was going to do whatever he could to make that happen. Plus, anytime the subject of eloping came up, Anna would always threaten to call her Bubbe and rat them out. That usually deadened the idea for a while.

It didn't surprise him how much he wanted to be married to Rachel. Being with her was as natural as breathing. And she'd never _fit into_ their family, like some outside force that didn't quite belong. Rachel was a _part_ of their family, had been since she'd first appeared. She was the missing piece he hadn't known he'd been looking for. She was a mother to his daughter and the love of his life. Together, the three of them could face anything.

He heard Rachel say goodbye to his mother and turned from the spot he'd claimed on the couch. She walked around and gracefully fell onto the cushion beside his. Noah quirked an eyebrow at her and held her gaze until she answered his silent question.

"She wanted to know if she could go ahead and RSVP before we send out invitations," she paused, hesitating which only made Noah worry about what else his mother had said.

"And?" he prompted.

"And," Rachel drew the word out, "she says she has a plus one." Noah's eyes went wide.

"Ma's bringing a date to our wedding? First Anna, now my mother. If Bex calls next, I'm gonna wonder if it's something in the bloodline. Are all the women in my life dating? Are _you_ dating someone I should know about?" Rachel laughed out loud despite how shocked she was at how easily Noah was taking the news.

"You're okay with this? Miriam was worried you might not like the idea. That's why she called me first." Noah thought for a second before answering.

"Yeah, it's cool. I want her to be happy." Rachel smiled. He and Anna were both so wonderful. "Just for laughs, maybe I should call her and tell her that this dude's gotta ask my permission too." There was always that mischievous streak to keep her on her toes.

"Don't push your luck. I highly doubt that's going to work twice." With a deep chuckle that tingled in her bones, he tugged her closer. He almost had her flat against the couch when they both heard Anna's door open. Pulling away like reluctant teenagers themselves, Rachel and Noah righted their clothing before Anna reentered the living room.

"Well Joey agreed to come for dinner and to ask permission to date me. That's _if_ he doesn't die from pure fear first." Anna stepped over Noah's and Rachel's legs before sitting down in her spot beside Rachel. "Thanks for the idea," she nudged Rachel's shoulder, "it didn't totally suck."

As Noah got up to look at the movie collection, Anna placed an envelope on Rachel's lap.

"What's this," she questioned. Anna shrugged her shoulders with a small smile.

"Well, I figured since the wedding is getting closer, it's almost official. And I'll be gone on the actual holiday so I wanted to give it to you early." Rachel shot another curious glance at Anna before moving her fingers under the envelope's flap.

She gasped when she saw what was inside.

As carefully as she could, Rachel slid the handmade Mother's Day card out of the envelope and held it in her hands. It was a simple card, three stars drawn on the front. On the inside, there was a small picture of the three of them, Noah, Rachel, and Anna, that had been taken at the engagement party. Below that, it said, _Happy Mother's Day, Love Anna_.

Rachel didn't realize there were tears falling from her eyes until Anna nudged her again. "Hey quit that," the girl laughed. "You can't cry every time I do awesome stuff. We'll get flood damage." Rachel laughed and hugged Anna. "It's just, you've been more of a mom to me than I could've ever asked for. I think it's because you were my friend first." Rachel wiped her tears away and kissed Anna on the cheek.

"Thank you sweetie. I love you."

"Love you too."

Noah put a movie in the player and walked back over to the couch. "And I love you both. Now shut up so we can watch the movie." Both women lightly slapped at his chest but they all laughed and settled in to watch the movie. It was family night after all.

_**-fin-**_

**a/n: Well that's the end. I hope everyone has enjoyed reading this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it. I'm so thankful for all of my readers. You're all amazing. As of right now, I don't have any multi-chapter story ideas in the works (which actually scares me just a bit because usually by the time I finish one multi-chapter, another one is working itself out in my head) but I have a lot of one-shot ideas that I'd really like to work on. So I'm not gone yet! Keep a look out for the rest of my work (you know, author alert me and such). As always, I can't thank you all enough for the support. It means so much to me. Hearts bbs!**

**Meagan (musicconsumes)**


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